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Glaucoma Research Foundation Announces $1.2 Million Awarded in Research Grants
SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2009 — Grants totaling $1.2 million will be awarded this year by the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) in San Francisco to foster innovative research in the search for a cure, better treatments, and improved diagnostics for glaucoma. The awards include major funding for the Catalyst For a Cure research consortium, now in its eighth year, support for clinical research, and two Shaffer Grants at $40,000 each. The Glaucoma Research Foundation Board approved the grants at its meeting in January, with the funds received by the researchers last month.
CFC Grant Recipients
The Catalyst For a Cure consortium is comprised of research investigators from four prominent University laboratories: David Calkins, PhD (Vanderbilt University), Philip Horner, PhD (University of Washington), Nicholas Marsh-Armstrong, PhD (Johns Hopkins University), and Monica Vetter, PhD (University of Utah). Their goal is to identify exactly what to target in the disease pathway with potential new drug or genetic therapies and exactly when in the disease process the therapies would be most effective.
Shaffer Grant Recipients
The 2009 Shaffer Grant recipients are Haiyan Gong, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Anatomy and Neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine, and Deborah C. Otteson, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry.
GRF awarded Dr. Haiyan Gong a $40,000 grant for her research proposal: “A study of the dynamics of Schlemm’s canal endothelial cells using a three-dimensional cell culture device with real-time imaging.” In this work Dr. Gong will generate different pressure gradients in the eye and image the responding changes in Schlemm’s canal to understand the outflow of the aqueous humor in the eye.
Schlemm’s canal circles the iris and collects aqueous humor from the front of the eye and delivers it into the bloodstream. Endothelial cells line Schlemm’s canal and are the last resistance site crossed by the aqueous humor before entering the blood circulation. Endothelial cells are not well understood and are likely to play an important role in the regulation of aqueous outflow.
Dr. Deborah Otteson’s project, “The role of DNA methylation in regulating Eph receptor expression in the retina,” was also awarded a $40,000 grant. Dr. Otteson will study how retinal ganglion cells turn on and off the genes that regulate the normal patterns of connections during optic nerve development. Her overall aim is to enhance the development of regenerative therapies to restore the optic nerve and vision in glaucoma patients.
“Our Shaffer Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research provide seed money for creative projects that hold great promise, said Thomas M. Brunner, GRF President and CEO. “Our initial investment in these researchers with new ideas often leads to major government and philanthropic support.”
“This year the Glaucoma Research Foundation continues our ongoing commitment to investing in high-impact research, Brunner said. “Despite the tough economic times, our donors responded to the need for funding, allowing this important and innovative research work to continue.”
About the Glaucoma Research Foundation
Located in San Francisco, the Glaucoma Research Foundation is the nation’s most experienced foundation dedicated solely to glaucoma research and education. In addition to funding innovative research like the Catalyst For a Cure research consortium and its Shaffer Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research, GRF also is the “go to” agency for education materials, including the definitive reference for newly diagnosed, Understanding and Living with Glaucoma (available in both English and Spanish editions); a special brochure serving those at highest risk, including African-Americans and Latinos; and a toll free phone line, 800-826-6693, staffed during office hours with an information specialist to handle a variety of inquiries.
For more information about Glaucoma Research Foundation, call 415.986.3162 or visit: www.glaucoma.org
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Kristine A. Morrill, KAM Communications
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Phone: 011.44.208.542.5684