2022 future Vision Awards- Laureate and Luminary Award Press
CLEVELAND’S FUTURE VISION FOUNDATION HONORS VISION RESEARCH VISIONARIES AT AWARDS CEREMONY AND GALA (Cleveland, OH)
The Future Vision Foundation is a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Cleveland-based, world-renowned ophthalmologist Dr. Suber Huang to showcase the work of extraordinary medical innovators who are making breakthroughs in vision research to restore vision or to prevent vision loss. The Future Vision Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala will take place at 8 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2022, Gartner Auditorium, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio. VIP tickets are $200 and include a cocktail party beginning at 6:30 pm, a special wrap party following the ceremony and parking voucher. General Admission tickets are $100 and include the ceremony and wrap party. Special student pricing for graduate students is $50 and undergraduate college and high school student tickets are $10. For tickets go to futurevisionfound.org
The ceremony features a cinematic presentation of three documentaries produced by cinematographer Greg Gant (Dr. Jean Bennett & Dr. Albert Maguire), director and photographer Andres Casanova (Dr. Baruch Kupperman) and Emmy Award-winning videographer and editor Lance Halloway (Dr. Christine Curcio). The films elaborate on the four individuals’ extraordinary accomplishments and breakthroughs in vision research. “By screening these films at our event, our intent is to highlight the importance of discovery in raising hope for those facing devastating sight loss, as well as to unlock opportunities for these vision research luminaries to advance fundraising that accelerates new cures,” says Dr. Suber Huang, MD, MBA, president and CEO, Future Vision Foundation and Chair, National Eye Health Education Committee of the National Eye Institute.
The 2022 Laureates Awards will be presented to:
Dr. Jean Bennett and Dr. Albert Maguire: This husband-wife team has made great strides in retinol gene therapy in children and adults. Dr. Jean Bennett is a gene therapy expert recognized for her translational work on inherited retinal degenerations. She is known particularly for being the scientific leader of a team that translated reversal of blindness in animal models to demonstration of efficacy and safety in children and adults. This led to the first FDA-approved gene therapy product for a genetic disease. She serves as the F.M. Kirby Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology and she continues to co-direct the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics (CAROT) at University of Pennsylvania while simultaneously further developing gene therapy applications in conjunction with private foundations and biotechnology companies. Dr. Albert Maguire serves as the co-Director for the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics (CAROT), and F.M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology; Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Maguire developed the methodology and carried out the preclinical small and large animal gene therapy surgeries that enabled progression to clinical trials for RPE65 deficiency. He served as PI for the Phase 1-3 trials (with Dr. S. Russell for Phase 3) that led to the first FDA-approved in vivo gene therapy product (Luxturna™ 2017). Luxturna is now used in numerous countries around the world. In the process, Dr. Maguire helped create a path for retinal gene therapy in children and adults. This template has been implemented worldwide to develop treatments for retinal disease.
Dr. Christine Curcio: Christine A. Curcio, PhD FARVO is the White-McKee Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. Dr. Curcio investigates human retinal neuroscience, aging, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using laboratory and clinical approaches. She has focused on anatomic and molecular pathobiology especially drusen and other characteristic extracellular deposits of AMD, outer retinal degeneration and gliosis, and microarchitecture of end-stage neovascularization and atrophy. Her superb microscopy studies provided a cellular and subcellular basis of clinical retinal imaging technology, building toward a progression sequence of disease. Her maps of the human photoreceptor layer showing rod loss in aging and AMD stimulated development of rod-mediated dark adaptometry as the first functional biomarker for AMD onset. She serves on editorial boards of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Retina. She was awarded the 2002 (inaugural) Roger H. Johnson Prize for Macular Degeneration research, the 2014 Ludwig von Sallmann Prize, the 2020 Research to Prevent Blindness – David F. Weeks Award for excellence in AMD research.
Dr. Baruch Kupperman: Baruch D. Kuppermann, M.D., Ph.D., is the Roger F. Steinert Professor, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine. He also holds a joint appointment with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine. Dr. Kuppermann’s laboratory research focuses on assessing the toxicity of drugs on retinal cells in culture, including various vital stains, steroids, and anti-VEGF compounds. More recently, his lab has modified its focus to study the effect of mitochondrial genetics on retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. He is active in the development of drug delivery systems for the posterior segment through collaborative work with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine, for which he holds several patents. Dr. Kuppermann is also codirector of the Center for Translational Vision Research at UC Irvine, which is focused on developing new treatments for blinding retinal conditions. This year’s Luminary Award will be presented to: Bradford and Bryan Manning of Two Blind Brothers Bradford and Bryan Manning are two blind brothers on a mission to cure blindness. At a young age, they were diagnosed with an eye disease that causes blindness over time. To fight back, they left their former careers to start Two Blind Brothers, a small charitable clothing company that donates 100% of its profits to drive life-changing research for a cure for blindness. Their condition inspired a special attention to details, a passion that carries over into the construction of their clothing line. Two Blind Brothers focuses on quality, comfort, and "sense of touch." “The achievements of this years’ awardees are quite extraordinary,” said Board Chair Grafton Nunes. “Guests can expect to be enlightened and inspired by the outstanding films which highlight the current vision research and medical breakthroughs that the honorees are contributing to in the field.”
About Future Vision: Foundation Future Vision Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization co-created in February 2017 by Jennifer Deutsch, Chief Marketing Officer at Park Place Technologies and Dr. Suber Huang, an internationally recognized ophthalmologist and Retina Hall of Fame inductee. Its mission is to inspire innovative vision research and celebrate breakthrough vision advances through powerful documentaries of discovery, impact, and hope. Visit www.futurevisionfound.org
Media Contacts
Future Vision Foundation
Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA President and CEO drhuang.fvf@gmail.com
Jessica Pietropinto Executive Director 216 382-3366 (main)
2021 future Vision Awards- Laureate Press Release
For Immediate Release
Future Vision Foundation Unveils Magic of Documentary Film Storytelling to Honor
Luminaries and Breakthroughs in Vision Research, Raise Awareness & Philanthropy
Medical innovators honored at 2021 Awards Celebration
Cleveland, OH – November 9, 2021 – People worldwide suffering with difficult eye diseases can look forward to a brighter future, thanks to the work of the Future Vision Foundation (FVF), a not-for-profit organization founded to showcase the work of the extraordinary medical innovators who are making breakthroughs in vision research to restore vision or to prevent vision loss. At the Future Vision Awards, Saturday, November 21, 6:30 PM, Cleveland Museum of Art, three remarkable researchers will be announced and presented with FVF awards as Laureates, and a Luminary will be honored as promoting vision awareness and research. Attendees will have the pleasure of viewing the FVF-funded documentary films that illustrate the nature of each honoree’s research. https://futurevisionfound.org/ticket
“When we raise the curtain on these productions, our goal is to highlight the importance of discovery in raising hope for those facing devastating sight loss, as well as to open opportunities for these vision research luminaries to advance fundraising that accelerates new cures,” says Dr. Suber Huang, MD, MBA, president and CEO, Future Vision Foundation and Chair, National Eye Health Education Committee of the National Eye Institute.
For those who wish to join this cinematic celebration of vision, standard admission and VIP tickets are available online at https://futurevisionfound.org/. For sponsorship information, visit https://futurevisionfound.org/sponsorship-information.
Student tickets are available for free for the awards ceremony, and are available by visiting www.futurevisionfound.org.
This year’s laureates represent groundbreaking accomplishments from around the world:
Edwin Stone, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Iowa University, seeks to understand how small variations in the genes of human beings can result in large variations in their vision. He is best known for his work in defining the genetic basis of blinding eye diseases: ranging from two of the most common causes of blindness, macular degeneration and glaucoma, to much rarer conditions like retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. He founded the Carver Nonprofit Genetic Testing Laboratory at the University of Iowa that provides low-cost genetic tests to patients in every state of the U.S. and more than 60 other countries. He holds the Seamans-Hauser Chair of Molecular Ophthalmology in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
Mark Terry, MD, is Director of Corneal Services at the Devers Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon since 1990. As a pioneer in his field, he has lectured extensively internationally* and widely published his research in the areas of corneal transplantation, corneal physiology, refractive surgery, dry eye and endophthalmitis. In 2000, he began the first U.S. clinical series of Endothelial Keratoplasty (EK) that he named DLEK, beginning a new era of modern corneal transplantation. He continues to pioneer development in this field. He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Paton Award from the Eye Bank Association of America and is a member with thesis of the prestigious and exclusive American Ophthalmological Society since 2007.
Russell Van Gelder, MD, PhD, is the Boyd K. Bucey Memorial Chair, Professor, and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Washington in Seattle, whose laboratory is at the forefront of two fields, non-visual photoreception and pathogen detection in uveitis. Dr. Van Gelder is an active clinician-scientist and teacher. In the field of non-visual photoreception, his laboratory has made a number of seminal discoveries. Dr. Van Gelder has won numerous awards for his research, including among others the Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award, the ‘Audacious Goals’ award of the National Eye Institute and was the 2017 recipient of the Bressler Prize of the Lighthouse Guild.
FVF is honored to present this year’s Luminary award to Rebecca Alexander and the Usher Syndrome Society.
Rebecca Alexanderis an author, psychotherapist, disability advocate, group fitness instructor, and extreme athlete who is almost completely blind and deaf. Born with a rare genetic disorder called Usher syndrome, she has been simultaneously losing both her sight and hearing since childhood. Now, at age 42 with only a sliver of sight and total deafness without the use of her cochlear implants, Rebecca has a thriving psychotherapy practice. She is the narrator of PBS American Master’s biopic about Helen Keller, she has presented for TEDx, has been featured on many TV shows and in numerous publications and has been honored with prestigious awards for her advocacy work. Rebecca’s critically acclaimed memoir, “Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found,” received several awards and is currently in development to be made into a major motion picture by Netflix Studios.
In addition to films honoring the Laureates and Luminary, FVF will honor three short films created by Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts titled “What Vision Means to Me.” This digital on-line program, created in partnership with FVF, is the first in Girl Scout history. These talented young leaders will receive their badges on stage in what is sure to be an exciting evening.
For the first time this year, FVF will host the Future Vision Forum “Forever Cure” in conjunction with the Awards Ceremony and Gala. This hybrid online and in person event, held on the Case Western Reserve University Campus, will feather internationally respected clinician scientists as they discuss breakthrough research, clinical trials, emerging trends and forecasts of how gene therapy, stem- and cell-based therapies and tissue-replacement strategies will change the practice of medicine. The Laureates will be presenting in addition to Karen Shaw Petrou, a leading banking analyst featured in The Wall Street Journal. Shaw Petrou offers a ray of hope to those living with impaired vision and blindness by sharing her formula that pushes fiscal institutions further into the social impact space with the support of research that offers the promise of eradicating blindness worldwide within the next decade. Shaw Petrou demonstrates how the concept of Eye Bonds can lead to the potential development of a wider Bio Bonds market, which would address the financing of a variety of unprecedented medical advances.
The Forum is free to the public with advanced registration. https://futurevisionfound.org/ticket
For those who wish to join this cinematic celebration of vision, standard admission and VIP tickets are available online at https://futurevisionfound.org/.
For sponsorship information, visit https://futurevisionfound.org/sponsorship-information.
Student tickets are available for free for the awards ceremony, and are available by visiting www.futurevisionfound.org.
About Future Vision Foundation
Future Vision Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization co-created in February 2017 by Jennifer Deutsch, Chief Marketing Officer at Park Place Technologies and Dr. Suber Huang, an internationally recognized ophthalmologist and Retina Hall of Fame inductee. Its mission is to inspire innovative vision research and celebrate breakthrough vision advances through powerful documentaries of discovery, impact, and hope. Visit www.futurevisionfound.org
Media Contacts
Future Vision Foundation
Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA
Jessica Pietropinto
President Executive Director
216-382-3366 (main) Jpietropinto.fvf@gmail.com
2019 future Vision Awards- Laureate Press Release
Future Vision Foundation Selects 2019 Vision Research Laureates
Cleveland, OH – May 1, 2019 – The Future Vision Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization founded to showcase and celebrate breakthroughs in vision research, has selected ophthalmology scientists David Huang; Johanna M. Seddon; and Terry J. Smith as recipients of the 2019 Future Vision Award.
The Foundation celebrates each Laureate’s contributions by producing a documentary film that illustrates their journey, research discoveries, and its impact on alleviating suffering from eye disease.
The films will premiere at the Future Vision Award ceremony at the Cleveland Museum of Art, on November 2, 2019 and be shown at major events around the world. Laureates will be able to show these films to raise awareness and foster additional funding for their research.
“There has never been a more hopeful time in vision research,” says Dr. Suber Huang, MD, MBA; President, CEO and Co-founder, Future Vision Foundation and Chair, National Eye Health Education Committee of the National Eye Institute. “These powerful films will be shared around the world, they narrate the stories of breakthrough discovery, hope for patients and highlight the need for funding to find new cures for blindness.”
Foundation Co-founder Jennifer Deutsch, Chief Marketing Officer at Cleveland-based Park Place Technologies notes, “As the first foundation to partner the medical community and the film industry, our mission is to leverage visual storytelling to showcase how medical innovations can change lives and improve the quality of life for those whose vision has been compromised”.
Laureate David Huang, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University focuses on innovations in applying laser and optical technology to eye diseases. Dr. Huang is the co-inventor of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), the most commonly used ophthalmic imaging technology at 30 million procedures per year. His seminal article on OTC has been cited over 13,000 times. Dr. Huang’s work is recognized as one of the most influential in the history of Ophthalmology.
Laureate Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, is Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Retina Service and Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Seddon has made groundbreaking discoveries in epidemiologic and genetic determinants of the leading cause of visual impairment, age-related macular degeneration (AMD): the first reports of the beneficial effect of dietary lutein, zeaxanthin and omega 3 fatty acids, and adverse effects of trans fats, abdominal adiposity and smoking on progression of the disease; and discovery of many of the confirmed AMD genetic variants and pathways, including the first causal, rare variant with high impact. She has authored over 250 papers and co-authored the book Eat Right for Your Sight. She has received numerous NIH and foundation grants and prestigious awards for her pioneering research and impact on the management of AMD worldwide.
Laureate Terry J. Smith, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan – has made novel discoveries in the treatment of thyroid-related eye problems. Dr. Smith investigated insulin and its role in treating thyroid conditions like Graves Disease – a disfiguring disease and potential cause of blindness. His prestigious awards include the Endocrine Society-Pfizer International Award for Excellence in Published Research.
For further information on Future Vision Foundation, 2019 award ceremony and to view prior FV Award documentaries, please visit our website, www.futurevisionfound.org
Media Contacts
Future Vision Foundation
Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA Jessica Pietropinto
President Executive Director
216-382-3366 (main) 216-382-3366 (main)
Llura "Lulie" and Gordon Gund Press Release
Llura “Lulie” and Gordon Gund to be Honored at Future Vision Foundation Awards
Lulie and Gordon Gund will be the recipients of the Luminary Award at the inaugural Future Vision Awards ceremony. The event will be held at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Saturday, November 17 at 8:00 pm. There will be a pre and post-event party for sponsors and honorees. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
The Luminary Award goes to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to advance vision research. Three other individuals will be recognized for their research breakthroughs. The evening will feature a showing of The Illumination, a film made by the Nantucket Project that brings to life the Gund’s extraordinary partnership and their commitment to finding a cure for blindness. The evening will also highlight the premier of three films about this year’s Future Vision honorees.
In 1970, Gordon Gund lost his sight from retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Then, in 1971 along with Lulie and others they co-founded the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) to drive research to find treatments and cures for retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, and allied retinal degenerative diseases, which as a group, affect the vision of more than 10 million people in the United States alone and many times that number worldwide. He chaired the FFB for 45 years and now serves as its chairman emeritus. The FFB is the world’s largest non-governmental source of research funding for retinal degenerative diseases.
Lulie Gund is currently President of the New Jersey Chapter of The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). The New Jersey Chapter, the Foundation’s first chapter, was established in Princeton, NJ in 1972. She also serves as a member of FFB’s national Board of Trustees. Lulie received the American Foundation for the Blind Migel Medal, March, 2016; The Spirit of Helen Keller Award, Helen Keller International, May 14, 2008; and an honorary doctorate from the University of Vermont in 1995.
Gund is the Chairman & CEO of Gund Investment Corporation in Princeton, NJ. He is the former majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team and was chairman of the NBA Board of Governors from 1996-1999. He is a former owner of three NHL teams, the Cleveland Barons, the Minnesota North Stars, and the San Jose Sharks. He was chairman of the NHL Executive Committee (1982-1990) and is a former member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
In addition to his business/philanthropic interests, Gund is an active sculptor. His works are on permanent display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ.
For more information, see trailers of the films being featured, and to purchase tickets for the Future Vision Awards, go to futurevisionfound.org. The mission of the Future Vision Foundation is to inspire and celebrate breakthroughs in vision research through powerful documentaries of discovery, impact, and hope. For additional information please contact Jessica Pietropinto at 216.382.3366.