The event has been POSTPONED due to concerns related to coronavirus. We are working to identify a date to reschedule. Stay tuned for more info and stay healthy.

He will discuss visual perception and pharmacological treatment of patients suffering from blinding diseases. Prof. Palczewski is the Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology, Professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, and a Member of the National Academy of Medicine. The event is presented as part of the KF Collegium of the Eminent Scientists Event Series.

The Kosciuszko Foundation Collegium of Eminent Scientists Presents 

Chemistry and Biology of Vision

• A lecture by Prof. Krzysztof Palczewski - the Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology, Professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, Member of the National Academy of Medicine
• The event will feature a Chopin piano performance by Hengyi Ye, a Prize Winner in the 2019 KF Chopin Piano Competition

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2020, AT 3:00PM

The Kosciuszko Foundation: 15 E 65th Street, New York, NY 10065. Free and open to the public. In lieu of admission a $10 donation towards the Kosciuszko Foundation is appreciated.

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Prof. Palczewski is the Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology, Professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). In October 21, 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest distinctions accorded to professionals in the medical sciences, healthcare and public health. Prof. Palczewski is a member of the Kosciuszko Foundation's Collegium of Eminent Scientists.

Dr. Palczewski has made critical contributions to the understanding of the molecular basis of age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal degeneration that have led to the development of new vision treatments.

Prof. Palczewski has studied the pharmacology of vision for more than 30 years, and his work has had a tremendous impact on efforts to restore vision in people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa and other congenital mutations that result in blindness.

He is best known for discovering the structure, folding and binding properties of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive photoreceptor protein. His findings have profoundly increased our understanding of the molecular basis of vision and the structure of photoreceptor cells in the retina. His findings have also contributed to the development of new molecular therapies for age-related macular degeneration and other retinopathies.

In 2018 Prof. Palczewski moved from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to UCI where he established the Center for Translational Vision Research at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, which is part of the UCI School of Medicine. There, he collaborates with a team of noted vision scientists to maximize opportunities to translate insights from basic science investigations into clinical treatments.

Dr. Palczewski holds 29 issued and nine pending patents and he has received several prestigious accolades, including the 2015 Bressler Prize in Vision Science and the inaugural 2014 Beckman-Argyros Award in Vision Research.

Dr. Palczewski is the only person to have won both the Cogan Award (1996) for the most promising young vision scientist and the Friedenwald Award (2014) for continuously outstanding ophthalmology research awarded by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. His work has been cited more than 46,000 times, with an h-index impact factor of 115, according to Google Scholar.

Dr. Palczewski earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology in Poland.

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Founded in 1925, the Kosciuszko Foundation promotes closer ties between Poland and the United States through educational, scientific and cultural exchanges. It awards up to $1 million annually in fellowships and grants to graduate students, scholars, scientists, professionals, and artists, and promotes Polish culture in America. The Foundation has awarded scholarships and provided a forum to Poles who have changed history.