Research To Prevent Blindness (RPB) was founded in 1960 by Dr. Jules Stein to fund and promote eye research into the causes, treatment, and cure of all blinding diseases. Since then, RPB has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions conducting that work. Its influence is apparent in nearly every breakthrough in eye care, and its presence is respected in every related professional community. In 1968 RPB led the movement to establish the National Eye Institute (NEI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
[an article that appeared in the Nov 15, 2007 issue of Ophthalmology Times]
As recently as the 1960s, ophthalmology was a second-tier medical specialty in the United States. Most medical schools relegated eye care to the division of surgery. With little research money available, few basic scientists focused their work on eyes.
 Recently, the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) recognized Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) for its continued commitment and service to AUPO and academic ophthalmology. From left: AUPO Executive Vice President Bartly J. Mondino, RPB President Diane S. Swift, and RPB Chairman David F. Weeks. |
"We didn't want it to be just a clinical specialty any more. We wanted to create environments where PhDs and MDs worked together and moved ophthalmology ahead," recalled David F. Weeks, the first paid employee that Research to Prevent Blindness hired. He has worked with the organization ever since, serving many years as executive director, and now as volunteer chairman of the board, contributing about 20 hours per week.
"We wanted to encourage translational research—before that was even a buzz word," he added.
So, Research to Prevent Blindness organizers committed to finance only research in ophthalmology programs that were full departments; this led to a major movement to upgrade eye-care programs across the United States.
"We particularly encouraged the awarding of joint appointments to scientists, with a primary appointment in ophthalmology and a secondary one in basic science," Weeks said.
Aiming high
But the group wasn't finished reshaping the world of ophthalmology. After encouraging the formation of full-fledged academic departments, it next set its sights on the U.S. government. At the time, the few federal dollars that existed for eye research were being funneled through the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Blindness. Dr. Stein and his colleagues wanted to convince the government to form an institute devoted to eye care, so they undertook two steps:
1. They commissioned a Gallup poll to ask Americans how important vision was to them. Not surprisingly to eye-care professionals, blindness rated second only to cancer as a national public health fear.
2. They recruited Thomas D. Duane, MD, who was chairman of the Division of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College, to conduct a scientific survey of the nation's medical schools to learn if a new public foundation could serve a worthwhile purpose in the support of ophthalmic research. He met with representatives of more than 100 medical schools to learn about their aspirations and concerns. The information he gathered provided scientific authenticity for the need for a dedicated national eye program.
With positive results from both endeavors, Research to Prevent Blindness went to work spreading the message and lobbying Congress. Weeks ultimately authored legislation to found the National Eye Institute, and it was introduced into Congress by Rep. Fred Rooney of Pennsylvania in 1966. When the bill stalled in committee for lack of the support of a national scientific group, Research to Prevent Blindness helped stimulate the formation of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO), a group that is still active in the field today.
After its formation, AUPO's first order of business was to endorse the concept of a national eye institute. With the help of this support, the institute officially came into being in August 1968.
Today, nearly 50 years after its founding, Research to Prevent Blindness continues its commitment to making breakthroughs in sight-threatening diseases. It played a major role in the formation of many of today's modern eye institutes, and supports research at more than 60 medical centers. It awards about $10 million a year to researchers and is credited as providing funding by more than 1,000 papers printed in peer-reviewed journals each year. It also is committed to supporting researchers at all levels of their careers, Weeks explained.
"We give grants to medical school students, as well as career development awards, scholar's awards, mid-career awards, and senior science investigator awards," he said. "We even offer support for sabbaticals to allow mid-career researchers time to retool and shift their focus to another area of ophthalmic research."
He is particularly proud of the fact that the organization does not give project grants, but rather grants of an unrestricted nature to allow researchers to pursue their ideas more freely.
"They can use our support to build out an idea and then go pursue massive grants to fund a larger project," he said, recalling one recent researcher who had received about $60,000 in Research to Prevent Blindness seed money and used the findings he achieved with the funding to secure a $6 million National Eye Institute grant.
"By awarding 'opportunity' research grants and recognizing outstanding achievement, Research to Prevent Blindness is the most effective philanthropic organization in the world of ophthalmology and vision science," says long-time supporter Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, former chairman of the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.
Bartly J. Mondino, MD, current chairman at Jules Stein, who also serves as executive vice-president of AUPO, this summer presented the Research to Prevent Blindness Board of Trustees with the AUPO Award recognizing it as the most important partner that AUPO and academic ophthalmology could have. He stated that without Research to Prevent Blindness' unrestricted support, AUPO would not exist.
Funding
Research to Prevent Blindness still receives much of its funding from an endowment left by Dr. Stein, but its primary source of new revenue is the ophthalmic associate members program. The program, started in 1970, collects $150 a year from members; about 10% of U.S. ophthalmologists participate, Weeks said. Another source of revenue is gifts and bequests from grateful patients who have been helped by work funded through Research to Prevent Blindness.
When distributing its funds, Research to Prevent Blindness still adheres to a practice that was begun by Dr. Stein—the use of a diverse group of experts to review grant applications. He was concerned that a small select group of leaders in the field had too much power and often voted primarily to support each others' pet projects. So, he formed a scientific advisory panel composed of renowned medical experts, including several Nobel Prize winners, from diverse scientific backgrounds, such as urology and physiology.
"We hoped that by opening it up to a broader field, decisions would be made based on science, not friendships," Weeks said. "It was such a high-profile panel that I was afraid they would all come to the first meeting and never find the time to return. But it turned out that they had great respect for one another but rarely had the opportunity to see each other outside our meetings, so they came every time."
Despite their impressive credentials, though, Weeks said it became apparent that they were not always up to date on the very latest in eye care. To help them out, Research to Prevent Blindness formed ad-hoc committees to pre-review applications and offer recommendations. These revolving panels always include representatives from various eye subspecialties and parts of the country to avoid the type of inbred environment that Dr. Stein feared.
"This was a unique way to approach scientific review," Weeks said. "It brought a lot more objectivity in the process. Scientists hate to have their theories challenged, and we had to work to keep this process fresh."
A further check-and-balance that the organization uses today is requiring that all grant applications be submitted through the chairperson of the researcher's department. "This greatly keeps the volume down and lets us focus our time better," he said.
More challenges ahead
Weeks, who was honored by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology at its 2007 meeting with the Kupfer Award for distinguished public service on behalf of eye and vision research, sees Research to Prevent Blindness continuing to be a major player in ophthalmology for decades to come.
"There are tremendous challenges left in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, and we will continue to pursue answers to the utmost," he said. "We have a small staff (fewer than 10 employees), and we are committed to giving the bulk of our money to research, not administration."
"We have an enviable record of getting money where it needs to go," he concluded.
