2008: King-Wai Yau

King-Wai Yau receives the 2008 trophy from the Portuguese President, Aníbal Cavavo Silva

King-Wai Yau made major contributions to elucidating the light responses of rods and cones and to solving the underlying phototransduction mechanism, including establishing cGMP as the messenger for photo-excitation and Ca2+ as the messenger for photo-adaptation. He also contributed greatly to understanding the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, which are non-rod/non-cone photoreceptors mediating circadian photoentrainment and other nonimageforming visual functions. Among other discoveries, he found that vitelliform macular dystrophy results from mutations of a new chloride channel protein. Dr. Yau’s work may provide a significant step towards uncovering fundamental molecular mechanisms of vision.

Watch King-Wai Yau’s acceptance speech at the 2008 Champalimaud Vision Award ceremony in Lisbon: