Luk H. Vandenberghe, PhD, along with collaborator and lead author Rob Collin, PhD, of Radboud University Medical Center, has been selected to receive the 2017 Ed Gollob Board of Directors’ Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). This award is presented annually in recognition of significant research advancements. According to the FFB, their winning paper, “In vitro and in vivo rescue of aberrant splicing in CEP290-associated LCA by antisense oligonucleotide delivery” was selected in recognition of their “outstanding progress in research that’s bringing us closer to sight-saving treatments and cures.” They will receive this award during the FFB Investing in Cures Summit to be held at the W Hotel in Chicago, on September 16, 2017.
Dr. Vandenberghe serves as Director of the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center, and an Associate Director of the Harvard Ophthalmology Ocular Genomics Institute. He is a leader in the design and development of novel gene therapy vectors for ocular indications, and is currently working to advance retinal gene therapy.
The FFB was established in 1971 to find treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases. Their goal is to drive research that may lead to preventions, treatments, and vision restoration for the spectrum of degenerative retinal diseases, specifically macular degeneration – including age related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease and Leber congenital amurosis (LCA). Today, the FFB is the world’s leading private funder of retinal disease research. That funding has been a driving force behind the progress toward cures, including the identification of more than 250 genes linked to retinal disease, and the launch of 20 clinical trials for potential treatments.