Hope for Vision, a non-profit organization that advocates for people with genetic blinding diseases, honored three Miller School researchers at two events on October 1 and 2.
Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., director of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, and Jeffery M. Vance, M.D./Ph.D., chair of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, were honored as humanitarians of the year.
The genetic cause of a retinal condition affecting three of the children of Carlos Lidsky, Hope for Vision Board of Advisor member, and Betti Lidsky, founder of Hope for Vision's Miami Community of Hope, was identified through a collaborative effort between UM research teams at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Hussman Institute for Human Genomics. Their research found a new biochemical pathway associated with the condition, called retinitis pigmentosa, which holds promise in developing new avenues of therapeutic interventions.
Jeffrey L. Goldberg, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology, also was honored as scientist of the year. Goldberg is on his way to discovering why neurons in the retina, especially retinal ganglion cells, fail to regenerate in degenerative diseases like glaucoma, or after an injury. Retinal ganglion cells transmit visual information from the retina's photoreceptors to the brain, making them essential to sight.
Pericak-Vance, Vance and Goldberg were presented with their awards at the home of Adrienne Arsht, a longtime supporter of the Miller School and Hope for Vision board member, on October 1.
The next evening, they were honored at Hope for Vision's annual gala, held at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel.
Calling the researchers "champions," Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., applauded the group's collaborative efforts at the ceremony. "Together, as a team, we all achieve more," Goldschmidt said.
"Each of you has accomplished the greatest gift of all...a gift that will benefit humanity," added Betti Lidsky, who described the research that has uncovered the cause of her children's retinal disease.
"For 18 years, we have been searching for the genetic cause of this disease and UM researchers have found it. These scientists are our angels."
