Apte honored for contributions to vision science
Pyron Award funds research into vitreoretinal disease
WashU MedicineRajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, has received the 2025 Retina Research Foundation’s Gertrude D. Pyron Award.
Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor and vice chair of innovation and translation in the John F. Hardesty, MD, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2025 Retina Research Foundation’s Gertrude D. Pyron Award. The honor recognizes a vision scientist whose work contributes significantly to understanding of vitreoretinal diseases.
Retinal diseases – age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, among others – are conditions that affect blood vessels in the retina and can lead to vision problems and blindness. Apte’s research focuses on understanding their root cause, helping to pave the way for future therapeutics to prevent vision loss. His work has helped unravel how metabolism affects neuronal function in the retina and shine a light on the role of the immune system in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. His lab is now positioned to test molecular targets in human clinical trials for aging and ocular diseases.
Each year, the American Society of Retina Specialists selects the recipient of the award, which is presented at the Society’s Annual Meeting. As part of the award, Apte receives a $5,000 personal honorarium and a $45,000 research grant, made possible by the Retina Research Foundation in Houston.
The award has been endowed by an estate gift from the late Gertrude D. Pyron, an eminent geologist, in admiration of the leadership of the late Alice McPherson, MD. McPherson, who was a member of the American Society of Retina Specialists, founded the Retina Research Foundation in 1969 to establish and fund programs for finding treatments and cures for vitreoretinal disease.
