Sayer Vision Research Lecture & Award: "Developing fit-for-purpose stem cell model systems to advance retinal therapeutics"

David Gamm, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison

David M. Gamm, M.D., Ph.D., is the Emmett A. Humble Distinguished Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute, the Sandra Lemke Trout Chair in Eye Research, and a Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a member of the Waisman Center Stem Cell Research Program, the UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

His research focuses on advancing human pluripotent stem cell technology for the purpose of generating functional retinal cells and 3D organoids (for which he holds the first issued patent) for use in cell replacement therapies and retinal disease modeling for blinding disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and age–related macular degeneration. In 2016, he co-founded Opsis Therapeutics, which partnered in 2023 with BlueRock Therapeutics to initiate the world’s first clinical trial for photoreceptor replacement using purified and cryopreserved iPS cell-derived photoreceptor precursor cells. In his clinical and surgical practice, Dr. Gamm also diagnoses and manages a broad range of pediatric eye and vision disorders.

In 2006, Dr. Jane Sayer, a National Institute of Health (NIH) research scientist in National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), established the Sayer Vision Research Lecture and Award at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), in partnership with the National Eye Institute (NEI) at NIH, to honor her family and the memory of her parents, Winthrop and Laura Sayer.

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to participate in this event should contact Ieva Macionyte at ieva.macionyte@nih.gov at least 3 business days prior to the event.