An Evening of BrightFocus
Thursday, June 9, 2022
National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC
Washington, D.C.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, June 9, 2022
Time: 6:30 – 10:00 pm
Location: National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC
Honorees
We honored excellence in research science and advocacy with the presentation of three awards:
David M. Holtzman, MD
Barbara Burton & Reuben M. Morriss III
Distinguished Professor
Scientific Director, Hope Center for
Neurological Disorders
Dept. of Neurology, Washington University
School of Medicine
BrightFocus Scientific Impact Award
Ilyas Washington, PhD
Co-Founder, biOOrg3.14 LLC
Co-Founder, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research
Sheila West, PhD, PharmD
El Maghraby Professor
Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology
Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University
Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research
Special Guests
Eric McCormack
Best known as Will Truman on NBC’s Will & Grace, Eric McCormack has been nominated for multiple awards, and won the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy in 2001. The recipient of a star on both Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, McCormack has played lead roles in dozens of films and TV series, including three seasons of Netflix hit, Travelers, where he also served as a director and producer. Additionally, McCormack starred in Trust Me and three seasons of the crime thriller, Perception on TNT.
Eric made his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated 2001 production of The Music Man. He also starred in the Tony-nominated production of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, as well as Neil LaBute’s off-Broadway play Some Girl(s) opposite Fran Drescher and Maura Tierney.
Eric and his wife, Janet, are active supporters of numerous charitable organizations including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Rape Foundation, and the ASPCA.
John Lewis, The Fitness Guru
John has over 25 years of experience in Speed and Agility Training and Extreme Workouts. John founded Energy Fitness in Atlanta, GA in 2003. Energy Fitness has continued to expand and grow thru John’s training, Speed and Agility Camps, Pool Workouts, Dance Classes, community involvement and leadership. His work ethic and dedication to training youth, adolescents, adults, and seniors continue to speak for themselves.
Presenting Cocktail Scientists
Alireza Faridar, MD
Targeting Adaptive Immune System in Alzheimer’s Disease
Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, PhD
Electric Fields Direct Full Length Optic Nerve Regeneration and Partial Restoration of Visual Function
Joelle Hallak, PhD
Personalized Medicine for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Ksenia Kastanenka, PhD
How Non-neuronal Cells Contribute to Alzheimer’s Disease
Jason Meyer, PhD
How to Build a Retina in a Dish: Developing a Human Stem Cell Model for Studies of Glaucoma
Ye Sun, MD, PhD
Targeting an Immune Regulator for Treatment of Wet AMD
Sponsors
Thank you to the generous sponsors of our 7th Annual Evening of BrightFocus.