Case Professor Eric Pearlman, Ph.D., receives prestigious vision research grant

Eric Pearlman, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has been granted a $65,000 Senior Scientific Investigator Award by Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), the world's leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. With this type of award, RPB supports nationally recognized senior scientists conducting eye research at medical institutions in the United States.

Pearlman, who has been on faculty at Case since 1994, will use the funds to study the immunology of the eye.

"Many diseases that lead to visual impairment and blindness have an immunological basis," said Pearlman. "This is true for infections of the eye, for transplantation, and even for diseases that until recently were not thought to have any immunological basis, including age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy."

Since the establishment of the award in 1987, RPB has honored 141 scientists at 53 institutions with it. Founded 46 years ago, 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, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, see the Web at www.rpbusa.org.

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