Father of modern corneal research honored with the António Champalimaud Vision Award 2022

Father of modern corneal research honored with the António Champalimaud Vision Award 2022

Claes H. Dohlman, MD, PhD, whose groundbreaking research at Mass Eye and Ear and in the The Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) has forever changed the way corneal diseases are understood and treated and has been honored with the 2022 António Champalimaud Vision Award for its extensive contributions to vision research.

Dr. Dohlman, who was born in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1922 and educated at Lund University and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, received the award alongside 2022 Champalimaud Prize winner Gerrit RJ Melles, MD, PhD, founder of the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery (NIIOS) and the Melles Cornea Clinic in Rotterdam.

The winners were honored at a ceremony on September 15, 2022 at the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal. The award carries prize money of €1,000,000 ($1,000,000), which will be divided among the winners to be used to further their research.

The Champalimaud Vision Award, first established in 2006 and presented by the Portugal-based Champalimaud Foundation, is the highest honor bestowed in ophthalmology and vision science and carries one of the greatest prizes in scientific research. The award, which is considered the “Nobel Prize of Vision,” is awarded once a year, alternating between research contributions in the field of vision (even years) and contributions to alleviating vision problems, especially in developing countries (odd years).

This is the second time Harvard Ophthalmology researchers have received this prestigious honor; The institution is the only department of ophthalmology to have won the award twice and boasts the most Champalimaud award winners to date. In 2014, six HMS researchers won the António Champalimaud Vision Award for their contributions to identifying vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as the main trigger of angiogenesis in the eye, underlying the pathology of several blinding retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, which led to the development of novel anti-VEGF treatments for these diseases.

"It is an incredible honor for our researchers to be recognized once again with the Champalimaud Vision Award. Dr. Dohlman's work, in particular, has not only changed the course of corneal research over the last century, but has also directly influenced countless lives and discoveries through his innovations," said Joan W. Miller, MD, 2014 Champalimaud Vision Award recipient and Chief of Ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital, senior ophthalmologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and chair of ophthalmology, and the David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology at HMS. “The hundreds of corneal specialists who were fortunate enough to be trained by Dr. Dohlman continue his lasting legacy by working toward a shared mission with the Champalimaud Foundation to develop therapies that will benefit billions of people and one day eradicate corneal blindness.

Father of modern corneal research, celebrated for groundbreaking contributions

Dr. Dohlman, professor emeritus of ophthalmology and former chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at HMS, is internationally recognized as the founder of modern corneal science. Over the course of his seven-decade career at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Ophthalmology, Dr. Dohlman advanced research into corneal physiology that laid the foundation for clinical practice in the areas of dry eye, corneal burns and wound healing, corneal transplantation, and keratoprosthesis. As a result, his work has helped improve the vision and lives of millions of people around the world.

Dr. Dohlman, who turned 100 on September 11, is the inventor of the Boston Keratoprosthesis (Boston KPro or Boston Cornea), an artificial cornea that benefits patients who cannot receive a standard corneal transplant. Since then, it has become the most widely used artificial cornea, restoring vision to more than 15,000 patients in the United States and in 52 countries worldwide.

As a prolific researcher, Dr. Dohlman has published nearly 400 scientific articles and given more than 40 named lectures worldwide. His educational contributions are limitless. He was the first to establish a formal structured cornea fellowship program and has trained over 200 cornea specialists – more than any other ophthalmologist in the world – many of whom have gone on to become professors and chairs of the Department of Ophthalmology and continue to train future generations of cornea specialists.

As part of the award, Dr. Dohlman will give a special lecture at the 2023 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, April 23-27 in New Orleans, La.

Our most sincere congratulations to Dr. Dohlman for being recognized with this prestigious award. Dr. Dohlman has been a valued member of ARVO for over 40 years with an impressive work record. We look forward to his talk next year as his contributions continue to influence us and guide the new generation of researchers.”

Hans E. Grossniklaus, MD, MBA, ARVO President

Founder of Mass Eye and Ear Cornea Service

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In 1964 Dr. Dohlman the Cornea Service at Mass Eye and Ear; the first specialist cornea clinic in the world. Under the direction of Dr. Dohlman and his successor and former mentee Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, the Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at HMS, the service has grown into one of the largest and most prestigious in the world. Service members continue to be at the forefront of important medical and surgical advances in the field. Her translational research and clinical innovations have led to new treatments for corneal diseases, including ocular surface reconstruction through stem cell transplantation and lamellar keratoplasty.

"Dr. Dohlman's indelible contributions to the field of corneal research are evident in his basic research, which continues to be used extensively in scientific discovery and patient care today," said Dr. Dana, vice chair of academic programs at Harvard Ophthalmology and director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Mass Eye and Ear and co-director of the Harvard Ophthalmology Cornea Center of Excellence. Dr. Dana is an internationally recognized clinical scientist and leader in the field of ocular immunology. “This award is a well-deserved recognition of his many achievements in advancing the field, as well as his trainees and inventions, which continue to have a major impact on patient care today.”

Cornea Center of Excellence, a center for research advancements and innovations

According to the World Health Organization, corneal blindness is a leading cause of vision loss. Conditions affecting the cornea are complex in their epidemiology and include a range of inflammatory, infectious and genetic eye diseases that cause scarring on the cornea, the transparent layer at the front of the eye that is the primary structure for focusing light and serves as a protective barrier against injury and microbial pathogens.

The Harvard Ophthalmology Cornea Center of Excellence, led by Dr. Dana and Ula Jurkunas, MD, brings together one of the world's largest groups of scientists and physicians to advance the understanding of corneal biology, develop treatments for corneal diseases, and improve access to vision. saving treatments.

Over the past two decades, these researchers have advanced advances including: identifying molecular clues, including the role of oxidative stress, in the pathogenesis of Fuchs corneal endothelial dystrophy; Identification of the molecular and cellular immune basis of dry eye disease, including the role of interleukin-17; Development and optimization of drug-eluting contact lenses entering clinical testing; Obtained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a novel method of culturing corneal stem cells for ocular surface reconstruction and performed the first surgery of its kind to remove healthy stem cells from one eye and transfer them to an eye damaged by corneal burns.

In addition, researchers continue to refine the Boston KPro. James Chodosh, MD, MPH, who spent 14 years at Mass Eye and Ear and HMS, most recently as Vice Chair for Education for Harvard Ophthalmology and Associate Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service before moving to the University of New Mexico's Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, as his first Chair of Ophthalmology this month, invented and patented a newer, low-cost keratoprosthesis – the “Lucia” – to treat corneal blindness in low-resource countries. Researchers are also studying and testing newer formulations of the Boston KPro, including a titanium modification, to improve it cosmetically, and they are actively learning how to better prevent postoperative glaucoma after treating corneal injuries with the device.

Source:

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Clinic

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