Prevent Blindness Awards Research Fellowships

Columbus, OH (August 19, 2021) – According to Vision Problems in Ohio 2020, an estimated 3.78 million Ohioans have vision problems and as the population ages, this number will only increase. To curb this growth, preventive steps must be taken including increased vision research, access to care, and education.

“The growth of vision loss and the overall impact of vision problems on individuals, their families and our society inspired the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness to establish the Young Investigator Student Fellowship Award for Female Scholars in Vision Research,” said Sherry Williams, President & CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Our goal is to encourage female scientists at the beginning of their careers to pursue vision research that can contribute toward the early detection and treatment discoveries that will be needed to curb the growth of vision loss,” Williams continued.

Prevent Blindness is proud to announce that its 2021 Fellowship grants have been awarded to:

Alyssa L. Hubal, from Case Western Reserve University Pathology, Immunology Training Program, is studying the effects of a combination treatment for ocular toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii parasite chronically infects approximately one-third of the world’s population and is the leading cause of eye inflammation worldwide. This infection can lead to a recurring, necrotizing retinitis that may result in poor visual outcomes. The goal is to improve the current standard of treatment with reduced overall side effects.

Rebecca Deffler is from The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

Bioptic telescopes can allow individuals with vision impairment to obtain or maintain their driving privileges. Ohio allows the use of a bioptic telescope to meet the visual acuity requirement for licensure. In order to qualify, each prospective driver must undergo additional vision testing, behind-the-wheel driver’s training with a certified driving rehabilitation specialist, and complete a road test where both the use of the bioptic and general driving skills are evaluated. Her research seeks to expand upon previous work by using naturalistic recording technology to study how and why newly-licensed bioptic drivers are involved in more collisions and develop and test a novel training intervention that uses recordings of driver errors to improve safety after licensure.

Megan Allyn is from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at The Ohio State University. She is studying treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. As the disease progresses, an inflammatory environment forms in the retina that results in the formation of dangerous blood vessels. She is researching implementation of a novel controlled sustained release injectable therapeutic that targets the angiogenetic mechanisms and inflammatory environment of disease.

Prevent Blindness is accepting applications for its 2022 Young Investigator Student Fellowship Awards for Female Scholars in Vision Research. Grants will be awarded for the summer 2022 session. The deadline for receipt of applications is February 15, 2022. Applicants must be post-baccalaureate students enrolled in either a Master’s or a Doctorate program, female citizens or permanent residents of the United States and conducting their fellowship project with a recognized academic institution in the State of Ohio. For more information about the Fellowship and/or to access an application form, contact Prevent Blindness at 800-301-2020 ext. 112 or [email protected].

Download the application:

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness serves all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to 1,000,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. For more information or to make a contribution, call 800-301-2020. Visit us on the web at pbohio.org, Facebook at facebook.com/pbohio/, or Twitter at twitter.com/PB_Ohio.

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