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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.
There are RPB awardees at all stages of a research career, studying all conditions that damage sight. At any given moment, we have hundreds of active awardees across the U.S. working hard on sight-saving research.
RPB currently funds 36 Departmental grantees, who are responsible for much of the outstanding ophthalmology research happening around the country. These departments have shown excellence in their science, leadership and impact.
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Grant Type:
Individual
Award Name:
Career Development Award
Year:
2025
Amount:
$350,000.00
Research Area:
Will pursue the creation of universal, mutation-independent strategies to ameliorate genetic pathologies, such as inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), shared across large groups, with the ultimate goal of developing new therapies for IRDs. The researcher will stimulate the ability of proteasomes to process the unusually large amounts of misfolded/mistargeted proteins formed in diseased photoreceptors. He will use gene therapy for proteasome subunit delivery to photoreceptor cells.
Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Will undertake preliminary work necessary to create new treatment targets for early-onset and congenital glaucoma, by studying the molecular mechanisms of normal outflow tissue development, which is the tissue that regulates eye pressure. The researcher will use a combination of mouse models and modern imaging systems to understand the role of Apelin signaling underlying normal outflow tissue development.
Stein Innovation Award
$300,000.00
Will enhance our understanding of the eye’s functions by focusing on the identification and characterization of mechanosensitive ion channels (Piezo2) involved in retinal neurovascular interactions. The goal of this work is to create innovative therapeutic strategies for addressing optic neuropathies, while deepening our understanding of retinal development, neurological function, and neuroprotection.
Photoswitches are small molecules delivered via intravitreal injection that have shown promising early results in treating degenerative diseases of the outer retina, such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, by restoring light sensitivity to surviving retinal neurons. The researcher will study the structure-function relationship of third-generation photoswitches using a combination of multi-electrode array and patch-clamp electrophysiology to optimize their design for improved vision restoration.
Disney Award for Amblyopia Research
$150,000.00
Will study the application of electrical stimulation directly to the eye in a rat model of amblyopia, with the goal of creating a targeted therapy for adults with amblyopia, who have missed the early childhood window for re-establishing a brain-eye connection with the amblyopic eye. The researcher will study the application of activating electrical stimulation to the amblyopic eye and silencing electrical stimulation to the non-amblyopic eye, in addition to performing tissue culture experiments to determine safe and effective stimulation parameters.
Will induce direct dormant progenitor (stem) cells that reside in the eye to create new retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). RGCs are the neurons in the eye that send information to the brain along the optic nerve; these neurons die due to glaucoma, leading to vision loss and blindness.
Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship
$30,000.00
Conducting research at Department of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University
Will develop protective strategies for glaucoma through ligandomics (a form of high-throughput technology used for biologics development) to enhance neuroprotection of retinal ganglion cells. Successful implementation of this study will support a new concept for neuroprotection by selecting protective nerve factors.
*Grant Amounts Listed Reflect Awards That Were Approved By The RPB Board of Trustees
*Grantees Shown Below Are For The Current Grant Year Only.