Dr. Jeremy Nathans is a professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of visual system development, function, and disease.
Dr. Nathans is responsible for landmark discoveries that have changed our understanding of how humans see the world. Over a career that has spanned more than 45-years, Dr. Nathans’ research has focused on the development and function of the retina and on the mechanisms of retinal disease. His early investigations into the mechanisms that allow us to see colors led him to identify the genes that code for color-vision receptors in the light-sensing cones of the retina. His most recent work on retinal vascular disease has led to the development of a new therapeutic approach to diabetic retinopathy that is currently being evaluated in clinical trials.
Dr. Nathans received his undergraduate degrees in Life Sciences and Chemistry from MIT and earned his PhD in Biochemistry and MD from Stanford University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Genentech, Inc. Dr. Nathans joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1988.
Dr. Nathans serves on the editorial board of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and he serves on the scientific advisory boards for many organizations, including The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Klingenstein Fellowship Awards in Neuroscience, the Life Sciences Research Foundation, and EyeBio (a subsidiary of Merck). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Nathans’ scientific discoveries have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research, the Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in the Life Sciences, the Mechthild Esser Nemmers Prize in Medical Science, and the World Laureate Association Prize in Life Sciences or Medicine.