NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt University Vision Research Center
(VVRC) has been awarded a five-year, $3 million grant from the National
Eye Institute to support vision and eye research. The grant was
awarded through a competitive renewal process. The previous five-year
grant was for $1.9 million.
"The renewal and significant increase of this core grant reflects
the tremendous growth in vision and eye research at Vanderbilt over the
last five years," VVRC director and E. Bronson Ingram Chair of
Neuroscience Jeff Schall said. "This grant will help existing and new
faculty who are concerned with vision and the eye in the College of
Arts and Science, the Peabody College of Education, the School of
Engineering and the School of Medicine work together to prevent or
rehabilitate vision impairments."
The grant will be used to support vision and eye research by
providing services individual faculty members could not afford on their
own, such as computer programming and networking support, veterinary
support, image processing and administrative assistance.
An important element of the new grant is the expansion of research
services for faculty in the School of Medicine. These services include
confocal imaging, gene and protein analysis and genetic manipulations
of mice.
"The renewal and increase of this core grant funding acknowledges
the rapid growth in meaningful basic and translational eye research
across the Vanderbilt campus," George W. Hale Professor and chair of
ophthalmology and
visual sciences Paul Sternberg said. "This grant
will provide valuable new support for sophisticated services critical
to ongoing vision-related projects within the School of Medicine and
elsewhere."
Vision research became a primary focus at Vanderbilt when the VVRC
was formed in 1989. The VVRC comprises faculty and trainees from
departments across the campus united by the goal of understanding the
mechanisms of vision and visual disorders.
"Research on vision and the eye is a major emphasis within
Vanderbilt’s overall program of cross-campus, interdisciplinary
inquiry," said Dennis G. Hall, associate provost for research and
graduate education. "This terrific news from the National Eye
Institute confirms our own internal assessment about the strength and
vitality of vision-related research on the Vanderbilt campus."
For more information on vision research at Vanderbilt, visit
http://vision-research.vanderbilt.edu.
Media contact: Melanie Catania, (615) 322-NEWS
Melanie.catania@vanderbilt.edu