By irene maslowski
— Fifteen researchers will receive seed money grants totaling $258,860 for their research into the causes of and cures for blinding eye conditions, thanks to Midwest Eye-Banks’ Eye and Vision Research Program.
The Eye and Vision Research Program was created in 1980 to help Midwest Eye-Banks further its mission of sight preservation and restoration through transplantation, research, education and partnership.
“Our mission is the restoration of sight, no matter what the cause may be,” explains Charles Pivoney, Midwest Eye-Banks’ Chief Operating Officer. “Typically, eye banks recover, evaluate and distribute eye tissue for transplantation, but we know that transplants can only be used to treat about 10 percent of blinding eye conditions. By funding research, we can fight blindness on all fronts.”
Of the 15 research proposals approved for funding, one was from Marco Zarbin, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School. His proposed research will investigate the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells.
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, a subsidiary of Midwest Eye‐Banks is a charitable, not‐for‐profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of sight. It recovers, evaluates and distributes human eye tissue for transplantation. It also supports research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions, promotes donation awareness through public and professional education, and provides humanitarian aid to people in need of corneal transplantation throughout the world. For more information, visit the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey online at www.lebnj.org or call 800‐653‐ 9379.
