Since 2010, the International Retinal Research Foundation has been an active partner with the National Alliance For Eye And Vision Research (NAEVR), an advocacy organization comprised of a coalition of 55 professional, patient and consumer, and industry organizations. NAEVR’s goal is to achieve the best eye and vision care for all Americans through advocacy and public education for eye and vision research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Eye Institute (NEI), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies. On March 22, 2018, NAEVR hosted a Private Vision Research Funding Foundations Advocacy Day with attendees of the previous day’s Fifth Annual Vision Research Funding Partnership event, hosted by Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). Advocates described the importance of their organizations to the state/district and their role in providing early-stage and bridge funding for investigators. IRRF Executive Director, Sandra Blackwood met with staff members for U.S. Senators Doug Jones (D-AL) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), as well as Gary Palmer, U. S. Representative from Alabama.

Above Photo: Sandra Blackwood (International Retinal Research Foundation), left, and Torrey DeKeyser (EyeSight Foundation of Alabama), right, with Katie Campbell in the office of Senator Doug Jones (D-AL)