Robert Simon Johnson

Robert Johnson

In early 2007 Robert Johnson became the first person in the world to undergo gene therapy treatment on the eye. Born with an inherited retinal dystrophy Robert was operated on by a team at world renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, led by Mr James Bainbridge, as part of a gene therapy clinical trial headed by Professor Robin Ali of University College London's Institute of Ophthalmology.

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Although results are unlikely to be published for some time, the medical team hope that the insertion of a correct copy of the RPE65 gene will allow patients to recover, or in the very least, retain a degree of sight.

In The Media

• BBC News article on the pioneering surgery
• BBC News video on the background to the operation
• University College London press release on the start of clinical trials