Award Recipients
2009:
The 2009 António Champalimaud Vision Award was awarded to Helen Keller International (HKI) for its outstanding achievements in preventing blindness in the developing world. In particular, its decades-long leadership in the global control of vitamin A deficiency - the leading cause of childhood blindness and a significant contributor to childhood mortality – has helped to save the sight and lives of millions of people around the world.
2008:
The first step in seeing is to convert light into electrical signals that the brain can use to create vision. The 2008 António Champalimaud Vision Award recognised fundamental discoveries on how this process works. Jeremy Nathans determined the genetic code of the human visual pigments, helping to determine how they function and discovering how mutations in their sequence can lead to some retinal diseases. King-Wai Yau showed how the absorption of light by these pigments generates the electrical signals that initiate vision and regulate our natural rhythms. These discoveries are basic to our current understanding of vision.
2007:
The 2007 António Champalimaud Vision Award recognised the global contribution made by Aravind Eye Care System through their comprehensive, sustainable, compassionate model of eye care. Aravind have made quality affordable eye care a reality for millions and have proactively structured the adaptation of their model through consultancy, capacity building, research, training, and publications, all delivered in the spirit of service.