Ambati to Receive Award for Contributions to Vision Research
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 11, 2009) − Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, professor and
vice chairman of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at
the University of Kentucky, has been chosen to receive the 2010 Cogan Award from The Association for Research in
Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). ARVO is the leading vision research organization, composed
of over 12,000 members internationally.
Since 1988, ARVO has annually recognized one individual younger than 40 years of age who has made important and worthwhile contributions to research in ophthalmology or visual science that are directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system, and who shows substantial promise for the future.
Specifically, the Cogan Award is presented to Ambati for exceptional contributions in the understanding of the role of innate immune system in the mechanisms and treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
"I am delighted and honored to be chosen for this prestigious award," Ambati said. "This award recognizes the important contributions that the talented young scientists in my research group have made in advancing the understanding of how macular degeneration develops and how it can be better diagnosed and treated. While such recognition from my peers is tremendously gratifying, my professional mission is to hasten the day when blindness due to macular degeneration becomes a faded memory."
Ambati's lab has made numerous foundational contributions in macular degeneration research with numerous papers published in Nature, Nature Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Ambati is the Dr. E. Vernon Smith & Eloise C. Smith Endowed Chair in Macular Degeneration, and he was the first ophthalmologist to win the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research. He was also elected to The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and serves on the editorial board of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences.
Dr. Jay A. Perman, dean of the UK College of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs, commented on the award. “Dr. Ambati continues to bring great recognition and pride to UK and our College of Medicine. While his research will one day lead to rewards in and of itself by eradicating blindness from macular degeneration, it is wonderful for his tremendous hard work and dedication to be so highly recognized by his colleagues.”
Since the inception of the award in 1988, several Cogan Awardees have achieved further prominence in biomedical research, with four elected to The National Academy of Sciences and six becoming Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.
Ambati will receive the Cogan Award and deliver the Cogan Award Lecture at the ARVO annual meeting in May 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Since 1988, ARVO has annually recognized one individual younger than 40 years of age who has made important and worthwhile contributions to research in ophthalmology or visual science that are directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system, and who shows substantial promise for the future.
Specifically, the Cogan Award is presented to Ambati for exceptional contributions in the understanding of the role of innate immune system in the mechanisms and treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
"I am delighted and honored to be chosen for this prestigious award," Ambati said. "This award recognizes the important contributions that the talented young scientists in my research group have made in advancing the understanding of how macular degeneration develops and how it can be better diagnosed and treated. While such recognition from my peers is tremendously gratifying, my professional mission is to hasten the day when blindness due to macular degeneration becomes a faded memory."
Ambati's lab has made numerous foundational contributions in macular degeneration research with numerous papers published in Nature, Nature Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Ambati is the Dr. E. Vernon Smith & Eloise C. Smith Endowed Chair in Macular Degeneration, and he was the first ophthalmologist to win the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research. He was also elected to The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and serves on the editorial board of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences.
Dr. Jay A. Perman, dean of the UK College of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs, commented on the award. “Dr. Ambati continues to bring great recognition and pride to UK and our College of Medicine. While his research will one day lead to rewards in and of itself by eradicating blindness from macular degeneration, it is wonderful for his tremendous hard work and dedication to be so highly recognized by his colleagues.”
Since the inception of the award in 1988, several Cogan Awardees have achieved further prominence in biomedical research, with four elected to The National Academy of Sciences and six becoming Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.
Ambati will receive the Cogan Award and deliver the Cogan Award Lecture at the ARVO annual meeting in May 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.