{"id":49579,"date":"2026-10-12T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T04:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/semmelweis.hu\/english\/?p=49579"},"modified":"2026-10-12T08:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T06:08:20","slug":"dr-botond-roska-a-collaborator-of-semmelweis-university-receives-vision-researchs-top-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/semmelweis.hu\/english\/2026\/10\/dr-botond-roska-a-collaborator-of-semmelweis-university-receives-vision-researchs-top-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Botond Roska, a collaborator of Semmelweis University, receives vision research\u2019s top award"},"content":{"rendered":"
Dr. Botond Roska, a former student and visiting professor at Semmelweis University, has received the Ant\u00f3nio Champalimaud Vision Award for his achievements in developing optogenetic therapy to restore vision. He shared the award, one of the world\u2019s most prestigious honors in vision research, with French American ophthalmologist and researcher Jos\u00e9-Alain Sahel. The world-renowned researcher, who lives in Switzerland, has collaborated with Semmelweis University for 15 years and believes this joint work has contributed to his achievements. In an interview with our website, he also discussed the current state of research into treating certain forms of blindness, when a therapy that partially restores vision could become more widely available, and the results of a five-year research project conducted jointly with the university that has just concluded.<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Retinal diseases are among the leading causes of vision loss, particularly in developed countries. Dr. Botond Roska, the world-renowned researcher who heads the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and is a visiting professor and former student at Semmelweis University, is working to understand precisely how the retina functions and to develop potential therapies to restore vision based on that knowledge. His five-year grant-funded research project, which included the university among its partners, has now concluded.<\/p>\n

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What is the retina?<\/h6>\n

The retina is the light-sensitive layer of nerve tissue at the back of the eye that converts light stimuli into electrical signals for the brain. Damage to retinal cells or their blood supply directly threatens vision. The two most common retinal diseases that cause blindness and severe vision loss are age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

World-class collaboration with Semmelweis University<\/h5>\n

\u201cEssentially, two major problems in the retina can cause blindness. One is disease affecting the photoreceptors, which prevents them from converting light into signals the nervous system can interpret. The other is disease affecting the ganglion cells that form the optic nerve, which prevents them from transmitting information to the brain. Through the five-year \u00c9lvonal research grant, which ended on September 30, we were able to advance our understanding of both types of disease,\u201d Dr. Botond Roska said, discussing the project\u2019s results.<\/p>\n

In Dr. Botond Roska and IOB worked with Dr. Arnold Szab\u00f3, Assistant Professor in Semmelweis University\u2019s Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology and Head of its Retina Laboratory; Dr. Zolt\u00e1n Zsolt Nagy, Director of the university\u2019s Department of Ophthalmology; and Dr. Bal\u00e1zs R\u00f3zsa, Founder and Scientific Director of the BrainVisionCenter Research Institute and Competence Center and Femtonics Ltd., and Group Leader at the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine and P\u00e1zm\u00e1ny P\u00e9ter Catholic University.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Zolt\u00e1n Zsolt Nagy, Dr. Botond Roska, Dr. B\u00e9la Merkely, Dr. Bal\u00e1zs R\u00f3zsa, and Dr. Arnold Szab\u00f3 at the launch of the initiative in 2021. Photo: G\u00e1bor Ancsin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among other questions, they investigated whether it is theoretically possible to produce color vision through optogenetic therapy and whether ganglion cell death can be slowed. All of these findings contribute to the future development of therapies, Dr. Botond Roska emphasized. The development of a gene-editing technique<\/a> that could lead to a treatment for Stargardt disease also formed part of the work associated with the project.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>IOB has numerous collaborations around the world, but its 15-year partnership with Semmelweis University and Dr. Bal\u00e1zs R\u00f3zsa stands out, Dr. Botond Roska said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI obviously have an emotional connection to Hungary and Semmelweis University. What makes this collaboration crucial, however, is that the technology Dr. Arnold Szab\u00f3 was the first in the world to develop<\/a>, which allows us to study processes in living retinas, together with Dr. Bal\u00e1zs R\u00f3zsa\u2019s microscopy techniques, enables us to take measurements in Hungary that we cannot take anywhere else in the world. On top of that, Semmelweis University\u2019s Department of Ophthalmology sees a very large number of patients and follows them very closely, allowing us to recruit many patients for studies at a single site,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Recognition for taking findings from basic research to therapy<\/h5>\n

Dr. Botond Roska has spent 20 years working to understand the retina at the molecular and physiological levels and using that knowledge to develop optogenetic therapy to restore vision. This sustained work, spanning basic research through clinical application, was recognized with the Ant\u00f3nio Champalimaud Vision Award, considered the field\u2019s most significant honor. He recently accepted the award jointly with his colleague Jos\u00e9-Alain Sahel, a French-American ophthalmologist and researcher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo: Champalimaud Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A study reporting on the treatment of the first 10 patients<\/a> was also published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>. According to the study, the therapy is safe, and increased light perception was reported in seven patients, with clinically significant improvements in six.<\/p>\n

But when could optogenetic therapy that partially restores vision become more widely available to patients? According to Dr. Botond Roska, the next step is to enable patients to see faces as well as objects as a result of the therapy. RhyGaze, a Swiss-American spin-off company founded by IOB, will launch a clinical trial addressing this next year.<\/p>\n

If the results are encouraging, Dr. Botond Roska believes the therapy could enter widespread clinical use within a few years. At the same time, he pointed out that there is enormous interest worldwide in the optogenetic therapy he and his colleagues described. At least 10 other companies, independent of the researchers, are working toward broader clinical use, and it is impossible to predict which will achieve results or when.<\/p>\n

The researcher also said that, if possible, he would like the treatment to become available to patients in Hungary, potentially as early as the clinical trial phase. Preparatory work has already been done, numerous patients from the Department of Ophthalmology have been enrolled in a clinical study that provides the multiyear follow-up needed for the eventual use of the therapy.<\/p>\n

Optogenetics, however, is just one of IOB\u2019s 13 research areas, which together cover virtually every disease of the eye. Discussing future goals, Dr. Botond Roska highlighted the institute\u2019s work on dry eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cDry eye, which affects one-third of people, involves a complex biological process. We want to understand that process in depth and then begin developing a future therapy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n
A chance discovery made restoring vision his life\u2019s work<\/h6>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Botond Roska in 2019, upon receiving the Semmelweis Budapest Award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Botond Roska earned his medical degree at Semmelweis University in 1995, but by his own account, ophthalmology was not a primary interest during his studies. He wanted to pursue brain research and began working toward that goal at the Department of Medical Biochemistry as a student researcher under Dr. Veronika \u00c1d\u00e1m, who headed the department at the time.<\/p>\n

Later, as a PhD student at the University of California, he read a paper showing that introducing a few genes could make cells sensitive to light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the moment I had the idea that these two things could be connected. For the first 10 years, I was interested only in the technological aspect<\/span>. Then, around the age of 40 to 45, I began to feel very strongly that I wanted to use what I knew about the retina to help patients gain access to treatment. Since then, this has become my passion. I work on it 15 to 16 hours a day, Monday through Sunday. I admit that I\u2019m a complete workaholic. This is what my life is about, and it is what I will devote my remaining years to.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

P\u00e1lma Dobozi
\nTranslated by Orsolya Jancs\u00f3
\nPhoto: Bogl\u00e1rka Zellei, Attila Kov\u00e1cs – Semmelweis University; G\u00e1bor Ancsin – Photo Desk; Champalimaud Foundation<\/p>\n

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