Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

A vision on blindnessBotond Roska has a remarkable vision. He wants to reversethe effects of a degenerative eye disease so that those affectedby the genetic disorder can once again see the wonders of life.The Hungarian-born scientist’s international collaborations havehelped him to make some outstanding discoveries that couldpotentially reverse some forms of blindness without any surgicalintervention.Dr Roska devoted his younger years to playing the violoncello atthe acclaimed Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Butan accident damaged his fi ngers and effectively ended his musiccareer. He switched to studying mathematics and medicine inBudapest before going to the University of California, Berkeley,in the USA, then on to Harvard University as a Society Fellow.He has won numerous awards, including most recently theYoung Investigator Award 2009 from the European MolecularBiology Organisation.Today, Dr Roska is a group leader of the neuroscience, geneticsand physiology unit at the Friedrich Miescher Institute forBiomedical Research (FMI) in Basel, Switzerland. His researchfocuses on the workings of the eye. He is particularly interestedin how neurons in the retina interact and link to physicalprocesses in the brain.Blinding conditionIt was at FMI that he, along with an international team of researchers,developed a breakthrough technique that restores light sensitivityto previously unresponsive retinas affected by retinitis pigmentosa,a genetic condition that leads to blindness.‘We were able to restore visual function in blind mice, a treatmentthat is currently being considered for clinical trial to restore visionfrom retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding disease,’ explains Dr Roska.Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited retinal conditions thataffects about 1.5 million people worldwide. It causes the progressivedeterioration of specialised, light-absorbing cells in the retina, thepaper-thin tissue that lines the back of the eye. Many of thoseaffl icted with the condition do not become legally blind until their40s or 50s and retain some sight all their lives. Others may loseall sight during childhood.Its progressive nature means late-stage retinal degeneration makestreatment extremely diffi cult and requires surgical intervention.Often treatment is not possible.Dr Botond Roska281