University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology

04/14/2026

A novel experimental therapy developed from foundational research at the UW Medicine Department of Ophthalmology has reached an important clinical milestone, with results from a first-in-human study published on April 14 in Nature Medicine. The paper reports early clinical findings for KIO-301, a light-activated small molecule designed to ultimately restore some vision in people with advanced retinitis pigmentosa. This rare inherited disease causes progressive vision loss.

Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD, Boyd K. Bucey Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology in the University of Washington School of Medicine - WWAMI, who co-authored the paper, helped develop the underlying science behind this approach. The technology is based on a class of compounds known as molecular photoswitches, which can confer light sensitivity to surviving retinal cells after photoreceptors have been lost. Photoswitches are effectively nanometer-scale light switches that can turn drug activity on and off with light. KIO-301 targets voltage-gated potassium channels, which control neuronal firing.

Learn more about the paper on our website:

Committed to the alleviation of suffering from eye disease

04/13/2026

Thanks to KING 5 for featuring Siddall Chair and Professor of Ophthalmology Tueng Shen, MD, PhD in a Healthlink segment on the UW Kren Engineering-based Medicine Initiative design of a biosensor device to track glucose levels and inflammation. Watch the segment at the link below:

The UW Kren Engineering-based Medicine Initiative is participating in the design of a biosensor device to track glucose levels and inflammation.

04/09/2026

Thanks to UW Medicine for sharing this story of Siddall Professor of Ophthalmology, Tueng Shen. Dr. Shen is guiding the design of a microscopic wireless biosensor that would sit in a tear duct, a space roughly 1 to 2 millimeters across, and continuously monitor the fluid for signs of disease.

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03/30/2026

Happy National Doctors Day! We are proud to recognize our incredible faculty physicians. We are inspired by the expertise and empathy that you demonstrate every day.

03/19/2026

Thanks to a transformational gift from Dawn’s Light Foundation in November, a 1,100-square-foot shelled space in the South Lake Union F building—adjacent to research laboratories and one floor above clinic operations—is now being converted into a purpose-built clinical trials center.

Opening this summer, the new facility will house up to 10 staff members and optimize patient care, study coordination, and research activities. This enhanced infrastructure will ensure that Ophthalmology’s clinical trials program can continue to pursue cutting-edge discoveries and bring emerging therapies to patients more efficiently.

Learn more about the new clinical trials space on our website: https://ophthalmology.washington.edu/news/dawns-light-foundation-gift-to-create-new-clinical-trials-space-at-slu

03/16/2026

Emily Chew, MD, the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications (DECA) and Distinguished Investigator at the National Eye Institute, the National Institutes of Health, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Roger Johnson Award for Macular Degeneration research. She will present a lecture as part of the 52nd annual Resident Alumni Day on June 13 at the South Lake Union campus.

The late Dr. Roger H. Johnson endowed this award, which is given every other year through the UW Department of Ophthalmology. The award aims to stimulate clinical and basic science research on the pathogenesis or treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Read more about Dr. Chew and the Roger Johnson Award here:

Emily Chew, MD, the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications (DECA) and Distinguished Investigator at the National Eye Institute, the National Institutes of Health, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Roger Johnson Award for Macular Degeneration research. She wil...

03/09/2026

Our Winter 2026 InSIght newsletter is now available. Read it here:

This issue's research spotlight is on George and Martina Krem Associate Professor Ram Sabesan’s recently published study establishing the utility of a new technology developed in his lab, called optoretinography. This precision engineering method has emerged as a tool that can predict the course...

03/09/2026

Our 2025 Community Report is now available online! Visit the link below to read stories of groundbreaking research, patient care and education: https://backend.ophthalmology.washington.edu/media/636

02/27/2026

Happy Thank a Resident Day! We are so grateful to our 20 residents for their dedication to their training and our patients. In July, we will be adding a sixth resident to our incoming class of 2030. 👏👏👏

02/26/2026

Thanks to Terri Young, MD, MBA, the Peter A. Duehr Endowed Professor and Chair of UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for joining us here at "the other UW" today as our Washington Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. Grand Rounds speaker.

Dr. Young, center, with Dr. Erin Herlihy, Bucey Chair Dr. Russ Van Gelder, Dr. Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch and Dr. Fran Baran.

02/25/2026

Thanks for posting University of Washington School of Medicine - WWAMI - the WISH Lab is such a key component of training the next generation of ophthalmologists.

02/25/2026

Thanks for posting this UW Medicine - the WISH Lab is a key part of training the next generation of physicians.