Pete Williams new professor of vision science through generous donation
Pete Williams, senior lecturer and research group leader at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, has been appointed professor of visual science. The professorship is funded by the Ulla and Ingemar Dahlberg Foundation and has the full name “Ulla and Ingemar Dahlberg's professorship in visual science with specialisation in ocular neurobiology”.
The professorship in vision science, which is funded by the Ulla and Ingemar Dahlberg Foundation, focuses on neuroprotective eye research with the aim of finding new forms of treatment for degenerative eye diseases such as glaucoma.
Glaucoma is the most common cause of permanent blindness and affects 80 million people worldwide.
Pete Williams' work at Karolinska Institutet and St. Erik Eye Hospital is focused on new treatments for glaucoma. His lab covers basic and clinical research. A number of clinical trials, both in Sweden and internationally, are based on Professor Williams' work.
Pete Williams, research group leader at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at KI and St Erik Eye Hospital, appreciates the foundation's support for vision science.
“Visual science is an underfunded research area in Sweden, and it’s of great importance that a major research funder such as the Ulla and Ingemar Dahlberg Foundation highlights it,” he says. “I’m very much looking forward to continuing to develop the collaboration between basic and clinical research to translate promising results into effective treatments for a very common disease with severe consequences.”
Pete Williams has recently been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for his work on new treatments for glaucoma. The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious awards that a researcher can receive.
Pete Williams took up his position as professor on June 23, 2025. The professorship in visual science was established in November 2023 with a generous donation of SEK 50 million over 10 years from the Ulla and Ingemar Dahlberg Foundation.