CLEVELAND, Jan. 22, 2025 – The Eversight Center for Vision and Eye Banking Research has awarded four grants to investigators at Loyola University Chicago, University of Houston, University of Illinois Chicago and University of Michigan to advance promising eye and vision research.
Recipients were selected by an independent review panel of academic researchers and ophthalmologists led by Jonathan Lass, MD, Charles I. Thomas Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, and member of the Eversight Board of Directors and Medical Advisory Committee.
Proposals selected for funding will engage in meaningful scientific inquisition and align with Eversight’s mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research.
“The Eversight Center for Vision and Eye Banking Research is proud to support innovative studies that address pressing challenges in vision science,” said Onkar B. Sawant, PhD, Vice President of Research & Development, Eversight. “These proposals explore groundbreaking approaches, such as developing novel drug evaluation systems for ocular diseases, enhancing limbal stem cell preservation, understanding the biomechanics of keratoconus and advancing therapies for ocular surface squamous neoplasia. By investing in these research initiatives, we are driving progress toward improved treatments and solutions that can restore and protect sight for a significant number of people around the world.”
Eversight has a robust research and development history and has awarded more than $4 million in grant funding to fuel scientific exploration in the field of vision science. Many of these projects have stimulated larger-scale studies and won further financial support from the National Institutes of Health.
2025 grant recipients and their proposals are:
- Simon Kaja, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Loyola University Chicago, is investigating the development of a novel experimental system that uses choroidal tissue from human donor eyes and a natural membrane extract to stimulate blood vessel growth experimentally using factors that have been linked to the pathophysiology of both wAMD and PDR. This system will then be used to evaluate drugs that target aberrant blood vessel growth.
- Sudhir Verma, PhD, Research Scientist/Research Assistant Professor, College of Optometry, University of Houston, is investigating the further characterization of the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) within the limbal stem cell niche and thereafter investigate whether the supplementation of the key ECM components could be used to support limbal epithelial stem cells within human donor corneas during hypothermic storage.
- Hamed Hatami-Marbini, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, is investigating the composition and microstructure of normal human and keratoconus corneal extracellular matrix. The long-term goal of this work is to alter the proteoglycans (PG) content in vitro and in vivo in a controlled way so that the structural functions of PGs in microstructure and biomechanical properties are fully understood.
- Vinay Aakalu, MD, Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan, is investigating testing molecules that target a specific pathway that is important in driving ocular surface squamous neoplasia and may be better tolerated by patients. This work will support the development of new more effective and safer treatments for ocular surface squamous neoplasia.
Applications for the 2026 Eversight Eye & Vision Research Grant program cycle will be accepted summer of 2025. Learn more at eversightvision.org/grants.
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
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