Apte receives young investigator award

Apte

Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, is the first recipient of the Presidents’ Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS).

The award was established to honor past leaders of the ASRS and to serve as a means to nurture the development of the next generation of retina specialists by encouraging researchers to investigate retinal diseases in ways that one day may lead to meaningful improvements in the lives of patients. The award, presented Aug. 10 at the annual meeting of the ASRS in San Diego, comes with a $15,000 honorarium.

In addition, Apte has been selected by Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) to receive a Sybil B. Harrington Physician-Scientist Award for Macular Degeneration. The award allows physicians at U.S. medical centers to devote more time to clinical eye research activities. Apte is one of 61 physician-scientists at 30 institutions to receive the award since it was established in 2000.

That honor includes $100,000, which Apte plans to use to carry out studies into how the aging immune system contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration and cardiovascular disease.