Glaucoma Research Foundation announces $2.5 million in grants to cure glaucoma

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The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) announced a total of $2.5 million in annual research grants to support innovative research to cure glaucoma and restore vision.

According to a news release, the grants were awarded to 18 investigators at prominent universities in the United States, Nigeria, and Hong Kong.

Thomas M. Brunner, GRF president and CEO, pointed out that it is the largest annual research budget in GRF’s 46-year history.

“It's the first time we've had two Catalyst for a Cure initiatives running concurrently plus the greatest number of Shaffer Research Grants we have funded in a single year,” Brunner added. "The Vision Restoration Initiative and the Initiative to Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration are making new discoveries bringing us closer to a cure for glaucoma."

GRF will award $1 million to the Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative principal investigators to continue their promising research toward restoring vision in glaucoma, and $800,000 to the Catalyst for a Cure Initiative to Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration.

According to the news release, 10 1-year, $55,000 Shaffer Grants will be awarded to support research into glaucoma genetics and new treatment for glaucoma.

"In August we'll bring together scientists we fund with some of the brightest scientific minds in vision research for our annual Catalyst Meeting in Boston," Andrew G. Iwach, MD, GRF Board chairman, said in the news release "GRF is doing our best to invest in research that brings us closer to our goal of curing glaucoma and restoring vision, while at the same time developing better solutions for patients today."

Catalyst for a Cure Research Collaboration

Principal investigators: Xin Duan, PhD, UC San Francisco; Yang Hu, MD, PhD, Stanford; Anna La Torre, PhD, UC Davis; and Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD, UC San Diego; Sandro Da Mesquita, PhD, Mayo Clinic; Milica Margeta, MD, PhD, Mass Eye and Ear; Karthik Shekhar, PhD, UC Berkeley; and Humsa Venkatesh, PhD, Harvard.

The 2024 Shaffer Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research:

• Revathi Balasubramanian, PhD
  Columbia University
• Kevin Chan, PhD
  New York University
• Bryce Chiang, MD, PhD
  Stanford University
• Cátia Gomes, PhD
  Indiana University
• Meredith Gregory-Ksander, PhD
  Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard
• Takaaki Kuwajima, PhD
  University of Pittsburgh
• Margaret MacNeil, PhD
  York College, CUNY
• Felipe Medeiros, MD, PhD
  Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
• Olusola Olawoye, MD, PhD
  University of Ibadan
• Samantha Sze Wan Shan, PhD
  Hong Kong Polytechnic University

By 2040, it is predicted that 111 million people around the world will have glaucoma.²

The Glaucoma Research Foundation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for glaucoma. Founded in 1978 in San Francisco, it continues to fund glaucoma research worldwide and empower a global community affected by the second leading cause of blindness.²

Reference:

1. Foundation GR. Glaucoma Research Foundation Announces $2.5 Million in Grants to Cure Glaucoma. www.prnewswire.com. Accessed March 14, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glaucoma-research-foundation-announces-2-5-million-in-grants-to-cure-glaucoma-302088889.html

2. ‌About Us - Glaucoma Research Foundation. Accessed March 14, 2024. https://glaucoma.org/about-us