A tribute to Professor Pete Coffey 

Professor Coffey was a leading researcher in developing treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and had been awarded several grants from Moorfields Eye Charity for more than a decade. Professor Coffey’s work leaves an important legacy – his pioneering research has not only improved outcomes for people affected by AMD, but it also offers a fantastic basis for future research in stem cell therapies.

Professor Coffey was theme lead for regenerative therapy, lasers, and medical devices at the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre and professor of visual psychophysics at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. He was also a long-time collaborator of Professor Lyndon da Cruz, a retinal surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Dr Amanda Carr at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and together they set up the London Project to Cure Blindness in 2007.

In 2018, the project published an important clinical study which demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment that had been developed by Professor Coffey and colleagues. Two patients, who had lost their sight due to AMD, received the treatment resulting in them being able to see faces once more. They went from not being able to read at all, to reading 60-80 words per minute with normal reading glasses.

The innovative treatment involves implanting a ​“patch” of stem cells over the back of the eye. Professor Coffey and his team created the cells, developed a new surgical technique and tools to implant them, and pioneered the imaging techniques to monitor their progress once in the eye.

Over the years, Moorfields Eye Charity has supported numerous research projects led by Professor Coffey, resulting in groundbreaking treatments and improved outcomes for people affected with AMD. 

Dr Ailish Murray, director of grants and research at Moorfields Eye Charity, said: ​“On behalf of us all at Moorfields Eye Charity, I’d like to express how deeply saddened we were to hear the news of Pete’s passing.

Pete was an excellent scientist, with a gift for explaining his research, conveying his excitement at its possibilities and potential to bring about real change for people affected by sight loss. He was an important advocate for our charity and was so generous with his time – always willing to meet and speak with our donors, but also passionate about sharing his work with a wider audience. He will be sorely missed by us all.”