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January Is Glaucoma Awareness Month
Public Briefing Set for Updates on Catalyst For a Cure Research Collaboration; David E. I Pyott to Receive Catalyst Award.
San Francisco, CA: January 6, 2006 –-
Coinciding with Glaucoma Awareness Month in January, the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) presents a public briefing by the four scientists leading the innovative research consortium Catalyst For a Cure (CFC). The program will be held on Wednesday, January 11, from 5 to 6 pm in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 222 Sansome Street, San Francisco. The briefing is open to the public, at no charge, although space is limited. RSVP: 415.986.3162 or ctorres@glaucoma.org.
The briefing precedes GRF’s annual dinner and report to donors which this year features the presentation of The Catalyst Award to David E. I. Pyott, Chairman, President and CEO of Allergan, Inc. The Award celebrates visionary donors with a unique understanding of the special need for new and inventive approaches to research. Inaugurated last year, the first recipient was CFC co-founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steven Kirsch, who will present the award for 2006.
According to Thomas M. Brunner, President and CEO of Glaucoma Research Foundation, “Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Everyone, from infants to seniors is vulnerable. Moreover, among African-Americans and Hispanic populations, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness. Combine that with our aging population, and we can see an epidemic of blindness looming if we can’t get ahead of this sight-stealing disease. To find a cure is the goal of our Catalyst For a Cure.”
Now in its fifth year, CFC was formed with the idea that the pace of discovery to find a cure could be accelerated by two innovations: departing from the old academic model of lone scientists working in the anonymity of their laboratories, by bringing together laboratories from four prestigious universities and having them work collaboratively in real time; and, recognizing that traditional approaches to treating glaucoma were well covered by the ophthalmic community, drawing scientists instead from the burgeoning fields of neuroscience and genetics. Laboratories in the CFC are affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, University of Utah, University of Washington, and Vanderbilt University.
The Scientific Advisory Board for the CFC program is chaired by Moses V. Chao, PhD, New York University, and includes Jack P. Antel, MD, Montreal Neurological Institute; Constance L. Cepko, PhD, Harvard Medical School; Eugene M. Johnson, PhD, Washington University; Martin Raff, MD, PhD, University College London; Dennis D. M. O’Leary, PhD, Salk Institute; Martin B. Wax, MD, Alcon Laboratories.
Allergan has provided more than $820,000 to GRF since 1985. “Allergan is distinguished as one of GRF’s most generous all-time donors,” said GRF’s chairman Dennis Singleton. “Under David Pyott’s leadership, Allergan’s enduring commitment to support innovative research and the well-being of patients has set the highest example of corporate leadership. For this, we are most grateful.”
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The Glaucoma Research Foundation is a national non-profit organization, receiving no government funding. Through research and education, our goal is to protect the sight and independence of people with glaucoma. For more information about glaucoma and donation opportunities, contact the Glaucoma Research Foundation, 251 Post Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94108 at www.glaucoma.org or 1.800.826.6693.