GRF receives landmark gift

San Francisco-The Melza M. and Frank Theodore Barr Foundation has given $1.6 million to the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF).

The donation, the largest single gift in the GRF’s 32-year history, according to the organization, will support the ongoing research of the Catalyst For a Cure consortium aimed at discovering a cure for glaucoma.

“The Barrs have been very generous in their support of glaucoma research, and their gift will have a major impact on the effort to find new treatments and eventually a cure for glaucoma,” said Thomas M. Brunner, GRF president and chief executive officer.

The Catalyst For a Cure research consortium, now in its ninth year, was formed with the goal of real-time collaboration to speed the process of discovery. Four principal scientists at four universities brought their experience in neuroscience, genetics, molecular biology, and vision to the effort. The principal scientists include Monica Vetter, PhD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Nick Marsh-Armstrong, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; Phil Horner, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle; and David Calkins, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.