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This geneticist’s age-reversal tech could help restore sight
Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu is obsessed with aging. And with eyes. As he steps outside the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his aviator glasses darken automatically in the sun. Age-related blindness runs in his family, and his own 23andMe test came back with a mutation for macular degeneration, a top cause of vision loss in old age.
That obsession extends to his work. Lu is behind one of the coolest results in rejuvenation science and eye research: an age-reversal technique called reprogramming that repaired the optic nerves of blind mice, restoring their vision. Now, nearly the same genetic therapy he developed as a student has entered human clinical trials.
Learn more about Lu’s work on restoring sight with age-reversal therapy.
—Antonio Regalado
Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu is one of the biotechnology and health honorees on our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2026. Meet the rest of them here, or explore the full list across the biotechnology and health, AI, computing and robotics, and climate and energy categories.