Members of the jury
The jury of the award consists of a distinguished panel of outstanding scientists involved in vision research and of exceptional public figures involved in meeting the needs of the developing world.
Alfred Sommer
Prof. Alfred Sommer has had a distinguished career in medical research and public health. He is currently Dean Emeritus and Professor of Epidemiology, International Health, and (at the School of Medicine) Ophthalmology at the John Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore.
Mark Bear
Prof. Mark Bear is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Picower Professor of Neuroscience at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Susumu Tonegawa
Prof. Susumu Tonegawa is a distinguished immunologist and a Nobel laureate. He is currently Director of the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics, an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Picower Professor of Biology at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Carla Shatz
Prof. Carla Shatz is the Director of BioX (Stanford University), an Institute facilitating interdisciplinary research at the intersections of Life and Medical Sciences, Engineering, and other quantitative sciences.
Joshua Sanes
Prof. Joshua Sanes is Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and founding Director of the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University.
Paul Sieving
Dr. Paul A. Sieving is the Director of the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health in the USA.
Gullapalli N. Rao
Prof. Gullapalli Rao is the Founder of the LV Prasad Eye Institute, India, and Chair of the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE). He is also past-President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Amartya Sen
Prof. Amartya Sen is a renowned Indian economist and Nobel laureate. He is currently Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University.
Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors is a prominent French politician and former President of the European Commission.
José Cunha-Vaz
Prof. José Cunha-Vaz is a renowned Portuguese ophthalmologist and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Coimbra University Hospital.
António Guterres
António Guterres is a former Portuguese Prime Minister and the UNHCR High Commissioner.