2008: Jeremy Nathans

Jeremy Nathans (right) receives the 2008 trophy from the President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Jeremy Nathans has made fundamental discoveries in basic and clinical vision science. Nathans isolated the genes encoding the human visual pigments; he defined the molecular and biochemical basis of inherited variation in color vision; he elucidated the biochemical basis of multiple inherited retinopathies; and he discovered unexpected mechanisms that regulate rod and cone photoreceptor development. Nathans’ research has illuminated a broad landscape in human genetics, molecular and cellular neurobiology, developmental biology, and ophthalmology.

Watch Jeremy Nathans’ acceptance speech at the 2008 Champalimaud Vision Award ceremony in Lisbon: