Celebrating Georg Ansari: 2026 Voltmann Prize and New IOVS Publication
We are very happy to celebrate two exciting milestones for Georg Ansari: receiving the 2026 Voltmann Research Prize for Macular Diseases and the publication of his recent work on dark adaptation in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS).
Georg received the Voltmann Prize for his research project “Parafoveal Dark Adaptation in Early and Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration.” The award supports innovative clinical and basic research projects focused on macular disease and was presented during the 38th Annual Meeting of the German Retina Society in Badenweiler.
The recognition is particularly timely, as the basline data underlying the future project has recently been published in IOVS:
Ansari G, Oertli J, Mächler L, et al. Parafoveal Dark Adaptation in Early and Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2026;67(5):74.
Read the publication in IOVS
The study addresses an important challenge in age-related macular degeneration (AMD): identifying functional changes at stages when commonly used measures of visual function may still appear relatively preserved. By examining rod-mediated dark adaptation at different retinal locations, the study found that delayed rod recovery was particularly pronounced close to the fovea. At 2° eccentricity, rod-intercept time was abnormal in 86% of eyes with predominantly early or intermediate AMD and showed strong diagnostic performance.
These findings highlight parafoveal dark adaptation as a promising functional marker of early AMD and point toward a way of detecting disease-related dysfunction before more obvious visual loss develops. This is especially relevant for future clinical studies and therapeutic trials, where sensitive functional endpoints are needed to capture subtle changes in the early stages of disease.
The award ceremony took place in Badenweiler, in the Markgräflerland between Basel and Freiburg—a particularly fitting setting for a project shaped by collaborations across these research environments. The 2026 meeting brought the German Retina Society to Badenweiler on July 3–4 and provided a wonderful backdrop for celebrating this achievement.
We are extremely proud of Georg and delighted to see his scientific curiosity, persistence, and careful experimental work recognized in this way. We look forward to following the next steps of this project and to learning more about how sensitive measurements of rod function can help us better understand the earliest stages of AMD.
Congratulations, Georg! And many thanks to the Voltmann Foundation and the German Retina Society for supporting young investigators and innovative retinal research.