Top selections for the 2013 Shaffer Grants announced

San Francisco-The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) announced the top seven selections for its 2013 Shaffer Grants during last night’s Catalyst for a Cure benefit gala.

The Shaffer Grants, awarded in the amount of $40,000, continue GRF’s commitment to one-year incubation grants to explore novel or promising ideas in the area of glaucoma. The grants are pending funding approval at the GRF Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Researchers (and their projects) selected by the GRF Scientific Advisory Committee include:

Pathophysiological Progression in Single Retinal Ganglion Cell (RGC) Axons Following Microscale Compressive Injury – David Sretavan, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco.

Dissecting the Genetic Causes of Congenital and Juvenile Glaucoma – Anneke I. den Hollander, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Novel Mucins and Aqueous Outflow– M. Elizabeth Fini, PhD, of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Retina Ganglion Cell Subtype Specific Cell Death in a Mouse Model of Human Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma– Colleen M. McDowell, PhD, of the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX.

Investigating Axonal Death Pathways in Glaucoma– Yvonne Ou, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco.

Molecular Genetic Study of Normal-Tension Glaucoma Using Transgenic Mice – John H. Fingert, MD, PhD, of the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

Gene Therapy in a Spontaneous Canine Model of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma– Andras M. Komaromy, PhD, of Michigan State University, East Lansing.

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