Larry Benowitz, PhD, Appointed Co-Director of Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration

Larry Benowitz, PhD, has been appointed co-director of the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. An expert in optic nerve regeneration, Dr. Benowitz has spent his career exploring the basic mechanisms that control the growth of nerve connections and how to reestablish connections between the optic nerve and the brain.

Established in 2009 as the first national, comprehensive, multidisciplinary research and clinical program for ocular regenerative medicine, the Fox Center focuses on the restoration of sight through tissue regeneration, transplantation, and technology. An attendee of the Fox Center’s annual meetings for the past 10 years, Dr. Benowitz looks forward to continuing and expanding its mission in his new role and will focus on strengthening interactions with other leading vision centers, furthering collaborative efforts among researchers in Pittsburgh and throughout the scientific community, and mentoring junior faculty.

Dr. Benowitz received his doctorate in biology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and completed fellowships at Caltech, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, he served as professor of neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and neurosurgical innovation and research endowed professor at Boston Children’s Hospital, positions which he retains part-time.