Our Shaffer Grants program inspires innovation by attracting much-needed brainpower to glaucoma research and leading us closer to a cure. These one-year grants provide $55,000 in seed money for projects that target one or more of our strategic research goals. This year's Shaffer Grant recipients are...

Revathi Balasubramanian, PhD
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Project: Endothelin Signaling in Trabecular Meshwork and Schlemm’s Canal Development
Funded by The Dr. Henry A. Sutro Family Grant for Research

Kevin Chan, PhD
New York University Grossman School of Medicine
Project: Role of Insulin Resistance and Aquaporin-4 in Glaucoma

Bryce Chiang, MD, PhD
Stanford University
Project: Targeted Optic Nerve Head Drug Delivery
Funded by the Rajen Savjani Fund for Innovative Glaucoma Research

Cátia Gomes, PhD
Indiana University School of Medicine
Project: Studying the Contribution of Aging to Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration Relevant to Glaucoma

Meredith Gregory-Ksander, PhD
Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School
Project: Restoring Microglia Homeostasis as a Treatment for Glaucoma

Takaaki Kuwajima, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Project: Development of Immune Cell-mediated Optic Nerve Regeneration Therapy
Funded by the Rajen Savjani Fund for Innovative Glaucoma Research

Margaret MacNeil, PhD
York College, CUNY
Project: Protecting the Optic Nerve with Mitochondrial Directed Peptides
Funded by the Rajen Savjani Fund for Innovative Glaucoma Research

Felipe Medeiros, MD, PhD
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Project: Race, Polygenic Risk Scores, and Glaucoma Progression
Funded by the Zander Family Research Fund for Glaucoma Genetics

Olusola Olawoye, MD, PhD
University of Ibadan
Project: Genetic characterization of Juvenile Glaucoma in Africa
Funded by the Frank Stein and Paul S. May Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research

Samantha Sze Wan Shan, PhD
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Project: MiR-17-92 Members in IOP Regulation
Funded by the Frank Stein and Paul S. May Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research

Learn more about the Shaffer Research Grants on our website.

We're pleased to announce the re-launch of our website, now optimized to be even more mobile-friendly, more accessible, and easier to navigate, making the information you need easier to find.

In 2019 the Steven and Michele Kirsch Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative (CFC3) brought together four scientists and their laboratories to discover ways to restore vision lost to glaucoma.

Last month, the Catalyst for a Cure researchers reported their progress to date in a meeting with their Scientific Advisors, and the Glaucoma Research Foundation Board of Directors unanimously approved renewal of the Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative for another three years.

The CFC3 scientists believe they have identified ways to accomplish all three of their goals: preventing retinal nerve cell damage, restoring optic nerve health, and replacing lost retinal nerve cells. Their next steps over the coming year and succeeding three years will include identifying the best combination of genes to achieve the maximum therapeutic results in models of glaucoma like human glaucoma.

Read more about Catalyst for a Cure research.

Registration is now open for the 6th annual Glaucoma Patient Summit, hosted by Glaucoma Research Foundation. The Patient Summit will highlight advances in treatment options and provide practical information to help patients and caregivers understand and live with glaucoma. This year's Summit will take place June 28th-29th in Philadelphia, PA.

Your gift today will support sight-saving research and provide essential educational resources for glaucoma patients. With your help, the cure is in sight.