Henry John Klassen is an American physician-scientist in the field of regenerative ophthalmology, known for his research in stem cell treatments for retinal disorders, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Early life and education

Klassen received a BA in neurobiology from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. He earned his medical degree in 1991 and his PhD in neurobiology in 1998 from the

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, encompasses both a medical program, offering the doctor of ...

. He finished his internship at

Cambridge Hospital (Massachusetts) Cambridge Hospital is a community teaching hospital located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three hospitals that are parts of Cambridge Health Alliance, the others being: Everett and Somerville Hospitals. Services highlights Commu ...

and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

, then went on to an

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

residency at the Yale Eye Center. After that, he undertook a combined fellowship in London, which involved clinical training in medical retina with Professor Alan C. Bird at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist National Health Service (NHS) eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthal ...

and research with Professor Raymond Lund at the Institute of Ophthalmology.

Academic and professional career

After completing his fellowship, Klassen was a senior stem cell researcher at the

Children's Hospital of Orange County Children's Hospital of Orange County or CHOC is a pediatric healthcare system based in Orange County, California. Its flagship hospital, CHOC Hospital Main Campus – Orange, is a pediatric acute care hospital located in Orange, California. The ...

, where he researched retina-derived stem cells. He then moved to the Singapore Eye Research Institute before joining the Department of Ophthalmology at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

(UCI), where he works as a professor. He is also the director of the Stem Cell and Regeneration Program at UCI. On 2012, Klassen co-founded jCyte, a biotech firm focused on creating

Stem-cell therapy Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. , the only FDA-approved therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cel ...

for retinal disorders. As the company's president, he guides efforts to translate research from the lab to clinical applications.

Research focus

Klassen's lab focuses on the practical application of human retinal progenitor cells (hRPCs) as treatment options for degenerative retinal conditions, especially retinitis pigmentosa. His studies have demonstrated that the transplantation of retinal progenitor cells can enhance photoreceptor function in deteriorating retinas. The stem cell treatment jCell, created by jCyte, has received

Orphan drug An orphan drug is a medication, pharmaceutical agent that is developed to treat certain rare medical conditions. An orphan drug would not be profitable to produce without government assistance, due to the small population of patients affected by th ...

status from both the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(FDA) and the

European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ...

(EMA). This status allows the company to access several advantages, such as protections for intellectual property, tax benefits, and funding opportunities. Furthermore, jCell has been included in the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program, which is affiliated with the

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) was established on December 23, 2011 and is located in Bethesda, Maryland. NCATS is one of 27 institutes and centers of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of th ...

(NCATS) at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH).

Academic Distinctions

* B.A. degree with Distinction in General Scholarship, 1979 * Pittsburgh Neuroscience Society Annual Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research, 1987 * Citation for Excellence in Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 1989 * Outstanding Presentation of the 1989 Eastern Student Research Forum * Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Medical Student Research, AMA, 1989 * Yale Alumni in Ophthalmology Resident Research Prize, 1994 * Career Development Award, Foundation Fighting Blindness, 1997 Appointments * Ph.D., Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Pittsburgh, 1989 * Innovator Awards, Awarded Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year 2023

Personal life

On 15 March 2024, Klassen converted to Islam, stating that the perseverance of the people of Gaza inspired his decision.

References