Research to Prevent Blindness’ mission and leadership makes the eyecare of today—and tomorrow—possible.
For decades, RPB grants have provided funding to create new discoveries in vision science. Learn about our current grants, as well as our exceptional grantees.
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Dry eye is a chronic medical condition that develops when the eye's tear film does not lubricate and protect the eye's outer surface.
Our grants program is the foundation of our work. We support the brightest researchers, in highly effective labs, asking the most important questions about vision and the eye.
RPB offers a variety of individual awards, across topics and career stages, that allow scientists to pursue specific, cutting-edge research proposals. Funded projects must be grounded in excellent science and must move the field of vision science forward.
RPB provides exceptional departments of ophthalmology with unrestricted funding, which is allocated by the department chair. As one of the few sources of unrestricted departmental funds, RPB grants enable innovative scientific approaches to eye diseases.
RPB accepts grant applications two times a year. Some grants are offered in both cycles and some grants are only offered once a year or on a one-time basis. Please view our Grants at a Glance module for details on each award.
Please view our Grants at a Glance page for more details on each grant
Applications due January 10 (with nomination forms due December 15)
Grants awarded in June
Applications due July 1 (with nomination forms due June 15)
Grants awarded in December
Nomination Due: June 15
Application Due: July 1
The Career Advancement Award assists outstanding early-career vision scientists in pursuit of ongoing research of unusual significance and promise. This one-time award is available to candidates who have already received their first NIH R01 and are collecting new data to secure a second R01.
Eligibility: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor
Status: Closed
Duration: 2 years
Grant Award Amount: $150,000
Nomination Due: June 15 (Fall Cycle) or December 15 (Spring Cycle)
Application Due: July 1 (Fall Cycle) or January 10 (Spring Cycle)
The RPB Career Development Award helps RPB-supported ophthalmology chairs support promising junior ophthalmology faculty who have demonstrated their potential for independent research. As RPB’s flagship award, the RPB CDA launches careers and catalyzes sight-saving research.
Eligibility: Assistant Professor, Instructor
Duration: 4 years
Grant Award Amount: $350,000
The Catalyst Awards for Innovative Research Approaches for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) will provide funds to researchers who are working on novel approaches to understanding or treating AMD. Ideally, at least one of the awards given will focus on a translational project - clinically relevant research that could lead to therapeutics or treatment for AMD - not yet in clinical trials.
Eligibility: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor
Duration: 3 years
Grant Award Amount: $300,000
Nomination Due: December 15
Application Due: January 10
The RPB Walt and Lilly Disney Award for Amblyopia Research was initiated to strengthen and promote research to improve the diagnosis and/or treatment of amblyopia. (The application should clearly specify how the proposed research is related to the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and/or treatment of amblyopia.) Grants will be offered to assist...
Nomination Due: June 15 or December 15
Application Due: July 1 or January 10
The Medical Student Eye Research Fellowships allow gifted students to take a year off from allopathic medical school and devote time to the pursuit of a research project within an RPB-supported department of ophthalmology. Please note: the program is neither intended to become a vehicle to assure the candidate a...
Eligibility: Medical Student
Duration: 1 year
Grant Award Amount: $30,00
The RPB Physician-Scientist Award promotes the clinical, translational and basic science research of clinicians. Physician-scientists bring a unique perspective and commitment to patient care to their research activities, enhancing the vision science field. The award does not have a specific scientific focus and is open to any topic within vision...
The RPB International Research Collaborators Award promotes international collaborations through which collaborating researchers in the U.S. and outside the U.S. gain new knowledge and skills. These international collaborations have the potential to accelerate the development of treatments for blinding disorders, positively affecting large populations worldwide for years to come. Under...
Grant Award Amount: $75,000
Nomination Due: June 15 (outside ophthalmology) or December 15 (inside ophthalmology)
Application Due: July 1 (outside ophthalmology) or January 10 (inside ophthalmology)
RPB Stein Innovation Awards provide funds to vision researchers with a goal of understanding the visual system and the diseases that compromise its function. These awards are intended to provide seed money to proposed high-risk / high-gain vision science research which is innovative, cutting-edge, and demonstrates out-of-the-box thinking. RPB offers...
RPB Challenge Grants encourage growth for newly emerging eye research programs and recently appointed department chairs at non-grantee ophthalmology departments at university-connected medical schools. The Challenge Grant is designed to enhance a department’s environment and capability to conduct vision research, to facilitate collaborative studies of the visual system, and to...
RPB Unrestricted Grants provide maximum flexibility in developing and expanding eye research programs. These annual $150,000 grants provide opportunities for creative planning that go beyond the scope of restricted project grants which scientists normally depend upon for their principal support. Only departments of ophthalmology with a full-time, permanent chair at...
Contact us for more details!
MariaClaudia Lora-Montano
Director of Grants Management