Botond Roska – Prizewinner 2020

The 50-year-old studied medicine and mathematics and received his doctorate as a neurobiologist in Berkeley. He then continued his research in the fields of genetics and virology at Harvard. Since 2017 he has been founding director of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology in Basel together with Prof. Dr. Henrik Scholl.

Roska's gene therapy gives hope to blind people

"Botond Roska's research holds great hopes for millions of people who have lost their eyesight due to retinal disease," announced Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher at the award ceremony in Hamburg City Hall, adding: "In Germany alone, more than 30,000 people suffer from loss of vision caused by a retinal disease. Worldwide there are more than 30 million." Roska and his team have done pioneering work in tracking down the approximately one hundred different cell types in the retina and investigating their interaction in signal processing. Roska achieved a breakthrough when he reprogrammed a cell type in the eye so that it could take over the function of defective light receptor cells. He was thus able to make blind retinas light-sensitive again. Another success: Roska succeeded for the first time in growing a complete artificial retina in Petri dishes. These mini retinas can now be used to test whether certain gene therapies work.

In view of the current corona pandemic, the presentation of the 36th Körber European Science Prize showed more than ever how important the promotion of scientific expertise is. Research and science are crucial to mastering the major challenges of the future, emphasised Tschentscher. Dr. Lothar Dittmer, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Körber Foundation, described the fact that the award ceremony could take place in Hamburg City Hall as the first major public event after the lockdown as a socio-political signal and an indication of the importance of science, not only in the Hanseatic city: "None of the central challenges facing society will be mastered without recourse to scientific expertise."

Botond Roska is a specialist in the previously incurable retinal disease retinitis pigmentosa, which leads to blindness. The scientist is working to apply his findings to patients in order to alleviate or cure their disease with modern gene therapies. The new way of seeing must first be learned in a joint dialogue, Roska explained in an interview with the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. This is because, after therapy, the treated persons would not be able to see any colours at first. According to the researcher, this is like watching old black and white films.

Receiving the Körber Prize will enable Botond Roska and his team to advance their research in order to better understand the human retina and develop therapies. Roska emphasised the great potential of young Hungarian scientists. "On the other hand, the award contributes to drawing attention to blindness, one of mankind’s biggest problems," said Roska.

In conversation with Ranga Yogeshwar, Tatjana König, Executive Board Member of the Körber Foundation, also emphasised the relevance of promoting young talent. According to König, no talent should be squandered; women in the sciences must be promoted even more strongly.

Martin Stratmann, Chairman of the Körber Prize Trustee Committee, argued that science should not preach: "Science must take up the dialogue that answers questions". To achieve this, science and politics must work hand in hand – especially in times like the ones we are currently experiencing.