{"id":2873,"date":"2020-03-04T23:37:02","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T23:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irrf.org\/?post_type=event&p=2873"},"modified":"2020-09-20T16:41:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T21:41:01","slug":"the-lasker-irrf-initiative-for-innovation-in-vision-science","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/irrf.org\/irrf_event\/the-lasker-irrf-initiative-for-innovation-in-vision-science\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lasker\/IRRF Initiative for Innovation in Vision Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
The Lasker\/IRRF Initiative<\/strong> has been a successful collaboration, inspired by the IRRF Board\u2019s idea that, together, the two Foundations could accelerate the understanding of retinal degenerative diseases using multidisciplinary scientific, technological and engineering approaches. Over the ten-year span IRRF provided support of more than $4 million for four individual projects in glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, restoring vision to the blind and amblyopia, plus a five-year follow-up assessment of the initial glaucoma study. Lasker and IRRF are thrilled with the achievements of the Initiative, thanks to the tremendous contributions of more than 300 scientists in multidisciplinary fields who discussed impediments to progress, debated ways to solve vexing issues and developed novel and creative methodologies that are now driving important research advancements. The IRRF Board of Directors met at the 2018 Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Honolulu, Hawaii<\/strong> and were able to attend special interest sessions supported by the Initiative. The group took this opportunity to discuss the outcome of the project with John Dowling, MD, Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Neurosciences, Harvard Medical School, who served as Chairman of the Initiative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Following is an excerpt from remarks by John Dowling, MD, who chaired the Initiative<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n