OneSight Research Foundation Awards $145,000 in Grants


The OneSight Research Foundation recently awarded $145,000 to four organizations that support diabetic retinopathy research:

  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA receives $35,000 to support research toward a target therapy in the growth of leaky abnormal retinal vessels due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the most common blinding disease in working age adults worldwide.
  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Dallas, TX is supported with a $50,000 grant to research vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins in tissues linked to the development of diabetic complications. The purpose of this project is to clarify the inter-connection pathways of VEGF signaling in the diabetic eye and kidney.
  • New England College of Optometry in Boston is granted $20,000 to continue a study to determine whether the application of insulin eye drops can prevent or even reverse diabetic retinopathy (DR).
  • Western University of Health Sciences in Pomano, CA – receives $40,000 to understand the pathophysiology of DR. The results may allow a selection of targets for developing newer therapeutic agents and to validate therapies currently under development.

The Foundation Board meets twice a year to award researchers who submit projects that show promise for new treatments or a cure for diabetic retinopathy, the number one cause of blindness in working-age adults. This vision-threatening disease leaves 24,000 people blind annually.