Teresa Puthussery, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Foundation announced the selection of 22 new fellows on October 8, with each recipient receiving an $800,000 stipend to use as they choose.

Puthussery’s research focuses on understanding how different types of cells in the retina contribute to visual perception and how neurodegenerative diseases disrupt these processes. Her work aims to help develop better diagnostic tests and therapies for vision loss. She uses molecular analyses and functional imaging in her research and recently discovered a rare type of ganglion cell that helps stabilize gaze.

Reflecting on receiving the call from the MacArthur Foundation, Puthussery said, “It wasn’t until they started reading out a description of my work that I was convinced that they had called the right person. It’s certainly just really unexpected, and so humbling and gratifying.”

UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons commented on Puthussery’s recognition: “Dr. Puthussery’s work embodies the spirit of discovery and innovation that is at the core of Berkeley’s research mission and showcases how the work we do here has a transformative impact on human health and well-being. This prestigious award is richly deserved, a source of great pride across our campus community and a perfect example of why Berkeley is one of society’s most valuable assets.”

Sharon Bentley, dean of UC Berkeley’s Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, added: “This extraordinary honor reflects not only Dr. Puthussery’s brilliance and creativity but also the profound impact of her work. All of us at the school are incredibly proud to celebrate this recognition of her visionary contributions.”

Millions worldwide suffer from degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. These conditions can result in partial or complete loss of sight with limited treatment options after vision loss occurs.

“In the human retina, there are still many ganglion cell types whose functions remain unclear. We’d like to better understand what these different cell types are doing and how they’re contributing to our visual perception and behavior,” Puthussery said. “Not only will this provide a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of how we see and navigate the world, but it will also help in creating better tests to diagnose and monitor different retinal diseases, and in developing therapies to restore naturalistic sight after vision loss.”

Her lab is currently exploring other ganglion cell types involved in detecting movement in peripheral vision. She explained, “We’ve developed an experimental approach that allows us to resolve the functions of sparse but important cell types that we know very little about. And so, going forward, we’re interested in using this same approach to understand how different retinal cell types contribute to our overall visual function.”

Puthussery is also collaborating with researchers at the University of Rochester and the University Of Wisconsin–Madison on a project aiming to restore vision by generating new photoreceptors from stem cells for transplantation into damaged retinas.

Born in Warragul, Australia, Puthussery was influenced by her parents’ backgrounds in math and science education. She initially trained as a clinical optometrist before pursuing research after encountering patients with untreatable vision loss early in her career.

She stated: “He had an inherited blinding disease called retinitis pigmentosa and he was gradually losing his vision. For me, this was kind of a turning point because I thought, ‘Wow, how is it that we have people in the prime of their lives, my age, progressively losing their vision and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.’ I think seeing that in the clinic made me realize that we’ve got some really big problems to solve, and that spurred me in the direction of doing a Ph.D. in vision research.”

After earning a Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne and completing postdoctoral work at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), she joined UC Berkeley faculty.

Puthussery hopes her award brings attention not only to her own lab but also highlights global advances in basic vision research: “Twenty years ago, many of the discoveries that we’ve made as a field, and even the methods we use in my lab, would have seemed like science fiction,” she said. “I really hope that this recognition from the MacArthur Foundation will not only bring attention to the importance of basic vision research and the study of retinal diseases that we’re conducting in my own lab but also highlight the work of the many talented scientists all over the world whose efforts continue to have a big impact on human health.”

Other 2025 MacArthur Fellows with UC Berkeley connections include William Tarpeh—a Stanford assistant professor recognized for sustainable wastewater treatment solutions—and Kareem El-Badry—an astrophysicist at Caltech honored for expanding knowledge about binary star systems and black holes; both earned Ph.D.s from UC Berkeley.