Posted on January 16, 2001 at 12:02 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Department of Ophthalmology at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) has received two grants from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases. One is a continuation of an unrestricted grant to the department for $110,000, an increase in $10,000 from last year.
The second award names Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology, as a Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Investigator. The award includes a $65,000 grant to further her research into age-related diseases of the eye. Owsley is one of only 112 researchers at 47 different institutions to be named a RPB Senior Scientific Investigator in the history of the organization.
“This continued funding of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology by Research to Prevent Blindness underscores the importance of vision research and the quality of the work being done here at UAB,” said professor and department chairman, Dr. Lanning B. Kline. “Dr. Owsley’s establishment as a RPB Senior Scientific Investigator underscores how she, along with other UAB researchers and clinicians, are making great strides in understanding the causes and progression of vision loss in the aging population.”
Additional research at UAB supported by RPB includes studies of amblyopia, retinal surgery techniques, retinal detachment following macular surgery, age-related macular degeneration and ocular trauma caused by pressurized bottles and by paintball pellet war games. To date, RPB has awarded grants totaling more than $1,800,000 to UAB.
Owsley’s funding will go to research on identifying clinical and functional markers for age-related maculopathy (ARM) in its earliest stages. The long term goal is to develop treatments for the earliest form of this condition before it causes severe vision loss. ARM is the leading cause of blindness in older adults in the U.S. Currently there are no highly effective treatments available.
RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled more than $172 million to medical institutions throughout the United States for research into all blinding eye diseases.