Dr. Guilherme Testa Silva; Head of the Physiological Technologies group at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB)

Leuchs-Russell-Auditorium, A.1.500, Staudtstr. 2

Location details

Abstract:
Vision can be restored in degenerated retinas by converting incident energy directly into ionic current with engineered proteins, bypassing external electronics. I will describe two complementary single-gene phototransduction strategies that exploit fundamental physical processes—heat transfer and photon absorption—across a broad spectral range. First, we lowered the thermal activation threshold of the human cation channel TRPV1 so that a millisecond pulse of near-infrared (NIR) light raises the local temperature by only a few kelvin—well within ocular safety limits—yet reliably opens the channel and elicits graded spiking in retinal ganglion cells. Second, using environmental metagenomics and automated patch-clamp screening, we are discovering channelrhodopsins with large absorption cross-sections, high conductance, and fast closing kinetics that drive stable photocurrents at indoor light levels, eliminating the need for camera-goggle amplifiers. Together, these thermally and photonically driven actuators cover the NIR and visible bands, charting a spectrum-agnostic, device-free route toward clinically deployable optogenetic vision restoration.