Glaucoma Research Foundation announces 2025 recipients of Shaffer Research Grants

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The Glauoma Research Foundation has announced the 9 recipients of the Shaffer Research Grants for innovative glaucoma research.

The grant honors Robert N. Shaffer, MD, who launched the Glaucoma Research Foundation, and provides $55,000 in seed money for collaborative projects that target one or more of the foundation’s strategic research goals.

Thomas M. Brunner, Glaucoma Research Foundation president and CEO, commented on the grant in a release from the company saying, "We are extremely fortunate for the ongoing and generous investment from our glaucoma community which enables these promising areas of research to be explored. These one-year incubator grants attract much-needed brainpower to the field of glaucoma and move us ever closer to the discovery of new treatments to preserve and restore vision.”

The 9 recipients of the award are:

• Steven Barnes, PhD - Doheny Eye Institute, UCLA
  • Project: Intrinsic Ion Channels Reduce Excitability During Energy Stress
• Richard Eva, PhD - King’s College London
  • Project: Pro-Tect and Restore: Developing Pro-trudinPlus Gene Therapy
• Karl Kador, PhD - University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • Project: Reintroducing Developmentally Regulated Guidance Factors to the Optic Nerve
• Balasankara Reddy Kaipa, PhD - University of California, Irvine
  • Project: The Genetics of Glaucoma: Lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery of base editor ribonucleoprotein complex targeting the trabecular meshwork for the treatment of glaucoma
• Shruthi Karnam, PhD - University of California, Berkeley
  • Project: Targeting Lipoxin B4 for Reversing Astrocyte-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Glaucoma
• Fiona McDonnell, PhD - Moran Eye Center, University of Utah
  • Project: Extracellular Vesicle Regulation of ECM in the Lamina Cribrosa
• Joel Palko, MD - West Virginia University School of Medicine
  • Project: Impact of Low Blood Pressure on ONH Biomechanics in Glaucoma
• Vidhya Rao, PhD - Loyola University Chicago
  • Project: Role of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate (NADPH) Oxidase-4 (NOX4) induced mitochondrial dysfunction in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma
• Supraja Varadarajan, PhD - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
  • Project: The Role of Postsynaptic Targets in Preserving Vision

References:

1. Glaucoma Research Foundation announces the 2025 Shaffer Grants for Innovative Glaucoma Research. PRNewswire. Published March 19, 2025. Accessed March 20, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glaucoma-research-foundation-announces-the-2025-shaffer-grants-for-innovative-glaucoma-research-302406137.html