About
Research
Labs
Education
Oct 21, 2026 | UC Irvine School of Medicine
Eye researchers at work on groundbreaking whole-eye transplant
UCI Health researchers Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, PhD, and Frans Vinberg, PhD, are advancing research toward restoring vision through whole eye transplantation. Their work focuses on major challenges such as preserving donor eye function and reconnecting the eye with the brain, with the potential to also advance treatments for blindness today.
Renowned retina researcher joins Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research
Internationally recognized retina researcher Frans Vinberg, PhD, has joined UCI’s Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research, bringing expertise in retinal biology and vision restoration. His research explores treatments for retinal disease, including ischemic vision loss, gene editing therapies and whole eye transplantation.
Oct 02, 2026 | UC Irvine News
Celebration of Madeline King's PhD
Madeleine King successfully defended her PhD in Biochemistry, with research focused on developing safer and more precise genome editing technologies. Her work advances base and prime editing tools that could improve the accuracy of future treatments for genetic diseases.
Matt Miller Director mrmille2@uci.edu
Communications & PR Office
Stay Connected
Congratulations to Dr. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk and Dr. Audrone Lapinaite on receiving prestigious 2026–2027 Senate faculty honors. Dr. Skowronska-Krawczyk was recognized with the Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentorship, while Dr. Lapinaite received the Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Research. Their achievements reflect their outstanding dedication, leadership, and contributions to research, mentorship, and the university community.
Congratulations to Krzysztof Palczewski, PhD, and Eleonora Risaliti on being named the 2026 Robert & Sylvia Mapel Research Innovation Awardees. Their project, “Prime Editing VEGF-A: A Durable Genomic Therapy for Neovascular AMD,” aims to advance innovative genomic therapy research for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
The Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research (BCTVR) hosted the Foundation Fighting Blindness Vision Connection event at UC Irvine, bringing together researchers and community members for presentations on breakthrough vision research and emerging therapies for blindness. The event featured talks from five UC Irvine vision experts.
Apr 15, 2025 | The Scientist
A Vision of the Future: Restoring Eyesight via Transplantation
Magdalene Seiler, an ophthalmology researcher and neurobiologist at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), has spent over 30 years developing transplantation strategies to restore vision in patients affected by retinal degenerative diseases.
Jan 28, 2025 | GEG Tech
Retinal gene therapy: Visual cycle restored in blind mice
University of California, Irvine and GEG Tech announce results paving the way for high-precision gene therapy.