Hope for Vision announces its 2008 Grant Recipients

We are thrilled to announce Hope for Vision's 2008 Visionary Grant recipients.  These grants support innovative scientific research to find treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases, a group of genetic, blinding diseases like Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Macular Degeneration and Usher’s Syndrome. Thanks to your generosity Hope for Vision awarded over $1.2 million to leading vision researchers this past year. 

You can learn more about Hope for Vision's Visionary Scientists by clicking here.

In addition, Hope for Vision has been working with the Elden Family to fund research specifically for the Usher IIIa disease. Usher IIIa is a progressive combination of hearing and vision loss that is usually diagnosed in the second decade of life.  Richard Elden, with the assistance of his daughter, Cynthia Elden (an Usher IIIa patient), his son, Thomas Elden and David A. Saperstein, MD, a retina physician with specific research interests in inherited retinal disease, have put together a team of some of the best retina researchers in the world to focus on Usher IIIa disease.  These researchers are required to attend working group meetings at least 2 times per year to discuss and share all of their work with one another.  By sharing data, reagents, animals and expertise in real time rather than after publication, the group has already made significant advances in the understanding and potential treatment of Usher III. 

To learn more about the Usher III Initiative, click here.

It is our honor to support such remarkable individuals, whose innovative work is bringing us closer than ever to our goal of 20/20 Vision by 2020.  In addition, we want to recognize what an important role our supporters play in providing critical support to further these diverse, promising research projects.

We hope you enjoy reading about the research you have made possible and accept our deepest gratitude for your continued support.