Tiffany Schmidt, PhD.
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NEW YORK—Lighthouse Guild, the not-for-profit vision and healthcare organization, announced that Tiffany Schmidt, PhD, is the recipient of the 2019 Pisart Award for her significant contributions to the field of vision science. Her work in sensory research and circadian biology is advancing the understanding of adult retinal function and retinal development, the organization said in a statement. “Lighthouse Guild’s mission is to improve the lives of people with or at risk for vision loss,” said Alan R. Morse, JD, PhD, president and CEO of Lighthouse Guild. “By recognizing outstanding early-career clinicians and researchers such as Dr. Schmidt, we are supporting vision research that will lead to breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Schmidt is a rising star in visual system neuroscience, who has already made remarkable contributions to the field. We look forward to seeing her future work."

Dr. Schmidt is an assistant professor in the department of neurobiology and associate director of the neurobiology master’s program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Her research focuses on intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which, like other ganglion cells, connect indirectly to rods and cones, but which also respond to light directly as a result of a photopigment, known as melanopsin, in their membranes. These cells were recognized as being light sensitive only in the early 2000s and were shown to contribute to the pupillary light response and circadian control.

In the last few years, starting with her PhD work, Dr. Schmidt has made a number of significant discoveries about these cells. She is continuing to study the many functions of ipRGCs and their role in adult retinal function and retinal development, contributing to new insights into visual system function. According to the Ligthhouse Guild, the main message from Dr. Schmidt’s groundbreaking work has been that ipRGCs are remarkably diverse and contribute to vision in ways that go far beyond circadian control and pupillary responses. Dr. Schmidt brings behavioral, electrophysiological, morphological, developmental, and genetic approaches to bear on a wide range of important questions concerning these cells.

The Pisart Award was established in 1981 and has annually recognized an early-career vision clinician, scientist or clinician-scientist whose contributions have the potential to substantially influence vision care and/or vision science and has a proven record of accomplishment.

As the 2019 Pisart Award winner, Dr. Schmidt will receive a prize in the amount of $32,000 at Lighthouse Guild’s Alfred W. Bressler Vision Science Symposium in the Fall.