Optogenetics for vision restoration
Invited by Deniz Dalkara, Bence György, MD, PhD Assistant Professor & Head of Clinical Translation, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), will speak on Tuesday November 19th at 09.30 AM. Meet in Schiff room (15-20 Hospital).
Abstract
Vision loss is a major cause of morbidity and a major fear for many people. The main causes of vision loss originate from the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Blindness is currently an untreatable medical condition and represents a significant unmet medical need.
Optogenetics is a form of gene therapy that uses light-sensitive proteins to control biological processes. This technique can be particularly useful for vision restoration, as remaining cells in the blind retina can be made light-sensitive through targeted expression of an optogenetic protein.
We developed an optogenetic vector that can selectively express a light-sensitive protein in human cells and activate them. We used a human retina model to demonstrate that this approach can restore retinal light sensitivity and retinal computations. The optogenetically treated retina responded to light stimulation just as normal human retinas do.
About Bence György
Dr. Bence György, MD, PhD, is an Eccellenza Assistant Professor and Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB). A translational researcher, Dr. György earned his MD and completed a PhD in Molecular Genetics at Semmelweis University, Hungary, where he studied extracellular vesicles. He expanded his expertise during a postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, developing gene therapy and genome editing techniques for neurosensory diseases.
Dr. György’s current research focuses on optogenetic vision restoration, precision gene editing, and multicenter clinical studies supporting translational programs. He serves on several advisory boards, including the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety (SECB) Gene Therapy Working Group, Usher Syndrome Society, Save Sight Now Europe, and Fondation Pour l’Audition. Dr. György has authored numerous publications, including in top-tier journals, and holds several patents in gene therapy. Additionally, he is a scientific founder of RhyGaze AG (www.rhygaze.com), a Basel-based spinout focused on developing a cone-targeted optogenetic vision restoration approach.