The 2025 MacArthur Grant recognised 22 exceptional individuals for their groundbreaking contributions, including optometrist Teresa Puthussery and epidemiologist Nabarun Dasgupta. Each recipient receives $800,000 as a stipend. The fellowship, named after Catharine and John Donald MacArthur, honours original work by scientists, intellectuals, and artists. Puthussery, aged 46 and Australia-born, is advancing research to restore vision for patients with untreatable impairment. Her laboratory at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, recently identified a rare ganglion cell whose damage causes permanent vision loss. Dasgupta, based at the University of North Carolina, leads efforts to reduce harm from drug misuse and prevent opioid overdose deaths. His Opioid Data lab offers free testing of community-donated samples across the USA. Both winners exemplify innovation addressing critical global health challenges, from neurodegenerative diseases affecting millions to the opioid crisis claiming hundreds of thousands of lives annually.
Groundbreaking Vision Research and Drug Safety Innovation
Puthussery's work on retinal circuitry aids understanding of the human visual system and could lead to treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma, which caused vision loss in 3.61 million people and impairment in 4.14 million globally by 2020. She currently participates in the Moonshot project, collaborating with the University of Rochester and University of Wisconsin. This initiative uses stem cells to generate new photoreceptors in laboratories, transplant them into damaged retinas, and restore vision. Meanwhile, Dasgupta tackles the opioid epidemic through simple test kits that detect unregulated substances. The World Health Organization reports about 600,000 deaths in 2019 linked to drug use, with 80 percent involving opioids and 25 percent from overdoses. He also expands access to naloxone, a medication reversing opioid overdose effects.
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