2026 Laureate Trailers

Connie Cepko, PhD - Laureate Award

Dr. Connie Cepko is a leading developmental biologist whose work transformed understanding of how the vertebrate retina develops and degenerates. She is a professor of genetics and ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

Botond Roska, MD, PhD - Laureate Award

Dr. Botond Roska is a physician–scientist whose work has reshaped understanding of retinal circuits and enabled pioneering approaches to vision restoration. His research mapped the roughly 100 retinal cell types and their circuit “modules,” linking specific gene defects in individual cells to inherited blinding diseases. Roska’s group developed human retinal organoids that mimic native retinal structure and function, providing powerful models for disease and therapy testing. He is a leader in optogenetic vision restoration, using light-sensitive proteins and gene therapy to reprogram surviving retinal cells, including in first‑in‑human trials showing partial vision recovery in a blind patient

Daniel Ting, MBBS, FAMS, Phd - Laureate Award

Dr. Daniel Ting is a retina specialist and leading clinical AI researcher whose work focuses on using artificial intelligence to improve eye care and broader healthcare delivery. As a senior consultant at the Singapore National Eye Centre and faculty at Duke-NUS and Stanford, he develops deep learning systems for detecting diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases from fundus photographs, improving screening accuracy and efficiency. His research spans big data analytics, large language models, and workflow automation, and he has published hundreds of papers in high‑impact journals. Recognized among the world’s top ophthalmology and AI leaders, he also helps write global guidelines for safe, ethical clinical AI.