Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu, a geneticist with a personal connection to age-related vision loss, has developed a gene therapy aimed at reversing age-related blindness. While earning his PhD at Harvard Medical School in 2018, Lu utilized a reprogramming technique known as OSKM to restore the optic nerves of mice that had been blinded through nerve damage. By injecting a gene therapy designed to revert the cells to a youthful state, Lu observed the regrowth of optic nerve axons within sixteen days, and subsequent tests confirmed the mice regained their sight.
Lu’s work has progressed from this foundational research to human clinical trials. In June 2024, the startup Life Biosciences, co-founded by Lu’s former advisor David Sinclair, initiated trials by administering a nearly identical genetic therapy, now called ER-100, to a human patient with glaucoma. The trial has garnered significant attention, with media outlets suggesting the potential for profound impacts on human longevity. Despite the hype, Lu remains focused on advancing the science, acknowledging the toxicity of the current treatment and the complexity of aging across different cell types. He has identified specific genes, such as one protecting the retina from free radical damage, as part of ongoing efforts to develop more targeted rejuvenation therapies. Lu’s research has shifted the discourse on aging, moving from skepticism to acceptance of the possibility of molecular age reversal.