The 24th Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize has been awarded to IOB Director Botond Roska, in recognition of his work developing approaches to decode retinal circuitry and restore vision.

At IOB, Botond Roska leads the Human Retinal and Central Visual Circuits Group. Roska’s lab explores how visual information is processed across the retina, thalamus, and cortex, mapping specific cell types and circuits to understand vision and its diseases. By combining molecular and viral tools, physiology, imaging, and computational modeling, the team translates these insights into targeted gene and optogenetic therapies with the aim to restore vision.

The Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize is presented by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in recognition of a groundbreaking achievement in neuroscience.

Established in 2000, the Perl-UNC Prize has a strong track record of celebrating discoveries that reshape the field, with several past recipients later receiving other major international honors.

Botond Roska officially received the prize and delivered the associated lecture on 5 March 2026. IOB warmly congratulates him on this outstanding recognition.