Researchers win prize for restoring children’s eyesight

LISBON, Portugal – Researchers in the United States and Britain are sharing a 1 million-euro ($1.16 million) prize from a Portuguese scientific foundation for developing revolutionary gene therapy that has restored the sight of children.

The Lisbon, Portugal-based Champalimaud Foundation’s annual Vision Award was given Tuesday for work on the treatment of children blinded from birth by genetic disease.

The foundation says the research brought a medical revolution, paving the way for new treatment of genetic conditions.

The winners are Michael Redmond of the U.S. National Eye Institute, who conducted pioneering early research in the field, and research teams in Pennsylvania, Florida and London, which built on that work.