Glaucoma Research Foundation Announces $1.3 Million in 2022 Research Grants

, March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) today announced a total of $1.3 million in annual research grants to support 10 investigators at prominent universities across the US.

GRF is awarding $1 million to the four Catalyst for a Cure principal investigators ($250,000 to each laboratory) to continue their investigations toward restoring vision in glaucoma. GRF one-year Shaffer Grants in the amount of $50,000 each will be awarded to six individual grant recipients to support their research into potential new treatment targets for glaucoma.

"Glaucoma Research Foundation is funding six researchers at prestigious medical research centers with our one-year Shaffer Grants," said Andrew G. Iwach, MD, GRF Board Chair. "In addition, we will continue to fund the four principal investigators engaged in our multi-year Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative. With this diverse research portfolio, we are doing our best to invest in research that brings us closer to our goal of finding a cure for glaucoma and restoring vision, while at the same time developing better solutions for glaucoma patients today."

Catalyst for a Cure Research Collaboration
"The Catalyst for a Cure team continues to make excellent progress in their collaborative research," said Thomas M. Brunner, GRF President and CEO. "Their efforts are our best hope for a cure for glaucoma." he said. The four Catalyst for a Cure principal investigators are Xin Duan, PhD, University of California, San Francisco; Yang Hu, MD, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine; Anna La Torre, PhD, University of California, Davis; and Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD, Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego.

The 2022 Shaffer Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research
Following is a summary of Shaffer Research Grant projects Glaucoma Research Foundation is funding at $50,000 each:

Kun-Che Chang, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
A New Therapeutic Gene for RGC Survival and Axon Regeneration in Glaucoma

M. Elizabeth Fini, PhD
Tufts University
Mechanisms of Steroid-Induced Ocular Hypertension

Sidney Kuo, PhD
University of Minnesota
Early Structural Changes to Müller Glial Cells in Glaucoma

Myoungsup Sim, PhD
Duke University
Primary Cilia-mediated Nitric Oxide Production in Schlemm's Canal Cells

Brian Soetikno, MD, PhD
Stanford University
Visible Light OCT for Glaucoma

Qing Wang, MD, PhD
Columbia University
Novel Tools to Identify and Target Astrocytic Subtypes to Treat Glaucoma

More information about each research project.
About Glaucoma Research Foundation.

SOURCE Glaucoma Research Foundation