July 9, 2025

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

I write to share with you the sad news that Dr. Peter Coffey, our distinguished colleague at the Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, passed away last month.

Dr. Coffey was renowned for his pioneering research aimed at restoring lost vision for people with age-related macular degeneration. He served as Director of the Center for the Study of Macular Degeneration and Co-Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering.

Our hearts go out to his family, colleagues, and friends, and to all who were fortunate to work with him and be inspired by him. He will be greatly missed by our university community. In his honor, our campus flag will be lowered on July 16.

I am honored to share the following tribute provided by our colleagues at the Neuroscience Research Institute.

Peter Coffey (1961 - 2025)

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our friend and colleague in NRI and MCDB, Pete Coffey, passed away recently.
 
Pete earned his D. Phil. at Oxford University and then held faculty positions at Oxford and later the University of Sheffield. He next became a Professor and the Head of Ocular Biology and Therapeutics at the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London, where he also served as Chair of Cellular Therapies and Visual Science. In 2011, Pete was recognized with the highly prestigious Leadership Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which brought him to UC Santa Barbara as Director of the Center for the Study of Macular Degeneration and Co-Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering, associating with both NRI and MCDB. Additionally, along with colleagues in the UK, Pete was a founding member of the London Project to Cure Blindness, which is aimed at developing a stem cell therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Pete was also a Co-founder of the biotechnology company Tenpoint Therapeutics. He was internationally renowned as a pioneer and leader in the field of regenerative medicine.

Pete’s research focused upon the molecular and cell biology of the mammalian retina, specifically on the underlying mechanisms of retinal cell degeneration and the subsequent development of clinical treatments for blinding diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. He was always interested in integrating the cutting edges of science with classical insights. Following many years of basic science work, Pete partnered with clinical collaborators in an authentic “bench to bedside” effort. This work led to one of the first stem cell–based clinical trials aimed at treating AMD. His internationally acclaimed 2018 Nature Biotechnology paper described promising results from a Phase I clinical trial in which a monolayer of retinal pigmented epithelial cells derived from human embryonic stem cells was transplanted into two patients with “wet” AMD. The paper reported an increase in the number of words the two patients could read from zero words per minute to 40-80 words per minute – an astounding restoration of vision. Following up in 2024, Pete showed that the recovery of visual ability was both stable and without serious side effects. This work is considered a landmark in the history of translational medicine and the use of stem cells to address human disease. 

In addition to the CIRM Leadership Award, Pete received many honors and awards over the years, including the prestigious Estelle Doheny Living Tribute Award, the Retinitis Pigmentosa International's Vision Award, the Ruskell Medal, the Alan Alderman Award, the New York Stem Cell Foundation Roberston Prize and the John Marshall Outstanding Award Scientist Award. He was named to The Ophthalmologist Power List as a top 100 influential figure in global ophthalmology and selected among the UK’s “Nation’s Lifesavers” for life-changing therapies restoring sight. He played an active role in the International Society for Stem Cell Research and the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy.  

Pete was also very active in public service, including giving presentations advocating for stem cell research and its ethical clinical use to the British Parliament and the Vatican. He actively communicated scientific progress to the public, highlighting the human impact of vision loss through media engagement and outreach programs and advocating for basic science research. He was also widely acknowledged for integrating patient perspectives into research, including collaborating with artists to highlight the personal impact of vision loss. 

We will fondly remember Pete as a cheerful and gregarious colleague as well as an intellectual powerhouse. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Pete’s family, friends and colleagues, especially his adult children, daughter Fionn and son Mischa.

Pete leaves behind a transformative legacy in regenerative medicine and visual science. His leadership in translating stem cell research into real-world clinical treatments has provided hope to countless individuals suffering from degenerative eye diseases. 

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor