Research Matters

Research
Funding
Makes Restoring Sight Possible

When people lose their vision, the risk of losing their independence is a major concern. 

But limited sight doesn’t have to limit life. Just ask José-Alain Sahel, Distinguished Professor and Eye and Ear Foundation Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, who is devoted to helping them keep or recover both. 

Sahel is a global leader in vision restoration techniques, known for his breakthrough work in optogenetics and visual prostheses to partially restore sight to the blind.
In the first year since the opening of the UPMC Vision Institute, which he directs, he and his team enrolled multiple patients in research studies, several of which rely on assistive technologies. 

His patients also use the StreetLab platform he developed in his previous role as founder and director of the Vision Institute in Paris, where they are able to mimic real-life settings of home, work and the community in a fully monitored and controlled environment.