Boston (Jan. 23, 2012) — Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has awarded Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, a $30,000 Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship. The award will support the work of Ms. Mamta Shah.
The award will allow Ms. Shah to participate in research under the mentorship of Mass. Eye and Ear Glaucoma Service Director Dr. Louis Pasquale in collaboration with Dr. Suzanne Freitag, Director of the Mass. Eye and Ear Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery Service. Their study will pursue the development of an algorithm to objectively evaluate anatomical changes in the eye believed to be associated with certain types of eye drops used to treat glaucoma.
"We are grateful to Research to Prevent Blindness for their continued support of eye research at Mass. Eye and Ear. They are one of the important contributors to our effort to find better treatments for patients with debilitating eye conditions," said Dr. Joan W. Miller, Chief of Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass General, and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
RPB is the world's leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions for research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding eye diseases. For information on RPB, go to www.rpbusa.org.
About Mass. Eye and Ear
Founded in 1824, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an independent specialty hospital providing patient care for disorders of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck. Mass. Eye and Ear is an international leader in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology research and a teaching partner of Harvard Medical School. In June 2011, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Schepens Eye Research Institute joined forces to form the world's largest and most robust private basic and clinical ophthalmology research enterprise. For more information, call 617-523-7900 or visit http://www.masseyeandear.org/.