Vladimir Kefalov, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been awarded the 2019 Bressler Prize by the Lighthouse Guild, an organization dedicated to reducing the burden of living with vision loss.
Established in 2001, the Bressler Prize recognizes mid-career vision scientists whose leadership, research and service have led to substantive advancements in the understanding of vision loss, the treatment of eye disease, or the rehabilitation of people with vision loss. The award includes $54,000, and Kefalov will lead the annual Bressler Symposium in the fall.
Kefalov, also a professor of neuroscience, was recognized for his work on the causes of photoreceptor dysfunction in the retina, affecting color vision and night vision. He developed a set of tools to study and analyze photoreceptor cells, the rods and cones responsible for color vision and night vision. Studying the cones that affect daytime vision, the tools Kefalov developed allowed his laboratory to understand how those cells are able to adapt to different intensities of light and darkness, features critical to daytime vision.
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