The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and their cross-discipline research departments provide a rich environment for research into all areas related to vision. The department is home to eight basic and translational science principal investigators in three major areas of research: Aging and Diabetes, including cataract formation; diseases associated with Retinal Degeneration including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Ushers syndrome; and Infectious Diseases, including bacterial and fungal keratitis, and ocular toxoplasmosis. The goals are to increase our understanding of these diseases and to identify novel means for new therapies. In the last five years, we have recruited new junior, mid-level and senior investigators, and in the next five years, we hope to expand the research and academic programs through grants and philanthropy.

The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is part of the Visual Sciences Research Center (VSRC), which encompasses over forty vision researchers in 18 Departments on the Case Western Reserve University and UH Case Medical Center campus, including Pharmacology, Pathology, Molecular Biology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering.

Department and VSRC Highlights

• Currently receiving over $41 million in funding from the National Eye Institute (NEI)
  
  
• Ranked 10th in the nation in research funding by NEI
  
  
• Over 20 NEI grants.
  
  
• NEI funded T-32 Training Grant since 2000 supporting numerous students training in the visual sciences.
  
  
• NEI funded P-30 Core grant since 1997 supporting core facilities with experienced managers and sophisticated equipment for VSRC investigators.
  
  
• Strong support from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) for unrestricted funding to chair from 1997 and individual awards to our investigators, including prestigious Stein Professorship in 2009.