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.
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, thereby enhancing the field of vision science. The award does not have a specific scientific focus.
The RPB Clinician-Scientist Award in Myopia Research focuses on research that aims to provide a deeper understanding of myopia development and/or explore methods for its prevention or deceleration. This specific award is now open to all Departments of Ophthalmology and has been expanded to include full professors in addition to Assistant/Associate Professors. Eligibility is also extended to OD and OD/PhD, in addition to MD and MD/PhD.
Only current RPB-grantee departments of ophthalmology may nominate candidates for the Physician-Scientist Award.
MDs or MD/PhDs holding primary appointments as Assistant Professor or Associate Professor in ophthalmology departments are eligible. PhDs are not eligible. Candidates are required to devote at least 25% of their time to research and at least 20% of their time to clinical activity. Candidates are not required to have R01s but such funding will be viewed favorably.
Applicants must be nominated by their Ophthalmology Department Chair. Please note: applications received without a prior nomination form will not be accepted. Candidates can access the nomination and application forms below.
Each RPB grant has different eligibility criteria, which is detailed on the relevant grant webpage. If you have questions about the eligibility details, please reach out to us; we’re happy to help.
While a few of our RPB individual awards (RPB Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship, RPB Career Development Award, and the RPB Physician-Scientist Award) are restricted to departments that have an RPB Unrestricted or Challenge grant, the majority of our awards are open to researchers at any academic medical center in the U.S.
The reason that the three awards mentioned above are restricted to RPB-supported departments is that our Departmental Grantees undergo an extremely rigorous peer-review process. The environment and leadership at these departments have met our stringent criteria and are appropriate venues for the research being conducted by these early- and mid-career researchers, giving us assurance that they will receive outstanding support and mentorship.
If you are not sure if your department has a Departmental Grant, visit our current grantees here.
No, all of our grants are awarded to researchers or departments of ophthalmology at U.S.-based academic medical centers. The RPB International Researcher Collaborators Award supports collaboration between U.S. and outside-the-U.S. researchers; however, the award is made to the U.S. academic medical center, which can then disperse the funds as needed to support the project collaboration.
For Financial Reports and Progress Reports, please contact Director of Grants Management MariaClaudia Lora-Montana (mlora@rpbusa.org).
For Year-End Reports (photos, research summaries and bibliographies), please contact Jo Casella (jcasella@rpbusa.org).
For more information about all RPB grant requirements, visit our helpful RPB Reports page.
We love to help promote our grantees’ work! Please reach out to Director of External Affairs Diana Friedman (dfriedman@rpbusa.org or 646-892-9565) to share your good news.
Contact us for more details!
MariaClaudia Lora-Montano
Director of Grants Management