Dr. Raj Apte of Washington University receives Roger Johnson Award
Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received the Roger Johnson Award for macular degeneration research at the 50th Resident Alumni Day held on Saturday, June 15 at UW Medicine South Lake Union.
Dr. Apte presented two talks: “AMD: The Intersection of Aging, Neuro-Immunology and Angiogenesis” and “Retinal Vasculopathy and Cerebral Leukoencephalopathy: Learning from Rare Diseases.”
The late Dr. Roger H. Johnson and his wife Angle Karalis Johnson endowed this award, which is given every other year through the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington. This prize is given to the scientist who has made the most significant contribution to the understanding or treatment of age-related macular degeneration. A generous gift from Angie Karalis Johnson led to the creation of the Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center at UW Medicine South Lake Union in 2019.
Roger Johnson graduated from the University of Wisconsin and trained at the Mayo Clinic. He set up his practice in downtown Seattle in 1945 and came to serve as a clinical professor on the University of Washington faculty; he was also a mentor and an eye researcher. Johnson established the eye clinic at Seattle Children’s and volunteered his time to serve as chief of service for more than 40 years.
Dr. Apte’s research at Washington University includes the study of cholesterol metabolism – lipids being involved in eye disease.
In the past 10 years, research has shown that people with the right genetic background, risk factors, and age (over 50) are more prone to developing these lipid deposits.
Dr. Apte says he is confident in 10 to 15 years, the next frontier will have therapies for macular degeneration to give patients short-term and long-term vision gains and to stop the slow decline of visual function by restoring normal physiology.
Dr. Apte is a native of Mumbai, India. He received his MD from L.T.M. Medical College, University of Bombay, India, PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; residency in Ophthalmology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; fellowship in retina, Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Baltimore.
