News Release

Schepens is recipient of the most National Eye Institute funds in 2001

Business Announcement

Schepens Eye Research Institute

Boston, MA-Ophthalmology Times (OT) recently listed Schepens Eye Research Institute as the recipient of more National Eye Institute (NEI) funding in 2001 than any other eye research organization in the country. The Institute heads a list (published in OT) of the top ten eye research institutes with $12,763,654 in funding, and is followed closely by Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania. "We feel honored to be part of this impressive group of vision research organizations," says J. Wayne Streilein, M.D., President of the Boston-based Schepens Eye Research Institute, who attributes the organization's steady increase in NEI funding in recent years to the quality of the science underway at The Schepens and a decade-long transformation of the organization's research enterprise.

Lore' Anne McNicol, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Extramural Research at NEI, agrees. "Schepens has become competitive, because its research has become more diversified," she says, adding that the diversification was the result of an intentional reorganization inspired by Streilein, who became Ankeny Director of Research at The Schepens in 1993, and its president in 1995.

For many years, The Schepens has been a leader in development of novel diagnostic instruments for non-invasive evaluation of eye function, and it has a long history of excellence in laboratory research in cell biology and pathology. Over the past decade, The Schepens has broadened its range of expertise to include immunology, molecular biology, genetics, retinal neurobiology, and angiogenesis. Today, the Institute boasts a team of the highest caliber researchers exploring all parts of the eye and all aspects of the diseases that most severely impact it. The research reorientation that began a decade ago has enabled The Schepens to emerge as the largest independent eye research institute in the world.

The Schepens Eye Research Institute's mission, and Streilein's vision, has been the study of multifactorial disorders considered primary causes of vision loss and blindness – macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, eye inflammation, dry eye syndrome, and glaucoma. From research of this type has sprung potential new treatments. Stem cells to regenerate retinal tissue, ocular gene therapy, angiogenesis and the use of small molecules to inhibit eye inflammation are just some of the efforts underway. Innovative new devices to help compensate for vision loss and improve quality of life are also being developed and tested at The Schepens. According to Streilein, every one of the 28 laboratory scientists at The Schepens now holds at least one research grant from the National Institutes of Health, an unprecedented record.

This year, the NEI will award approximately $489 million to eye research organizations such as The Schepens, basing the distribution of these funds on scientific and technical merit, as well as priority criteria set down in NEI's five-year plan, according to McNicol. In recent years, she says, NEI has been particularly interested in research that looks at the molecular basis of eye disease and that, at the same time, is translational, or transferable from the laboratory to the clinic. In addition, priority is placed on research that addresses the most severe causes of vision loss, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

"Our business is hope," says Streilein. "We are very proud of what we are achieving scientifically, and we are gratified that NEI is recognizing the quality of that work, but it is the hope we give patients with eye disease and their families that we are most proud of."

NEI funding is only a portion of what institutes such as The Schepens require to pursue their missions. In The Schepens' case, approximately 67 percent of its annual operating budget comes from the federal government, chiefly the NEI. Other funding sources include foundations, private donations and fundraising initiatives.

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The Schepens Eye Research Institute is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.


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