Wilmer Eye Institute awarded AHAF grants for glaucoma and AMD

Baltimore-Three faculty members and a researcher at Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins have received grants from the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF).

Wilmer faculty members Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology; Shannath L. Merbs, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology and oncology and ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery; and research associate Zhiyong Yang, MD, PhD, are investigating ways to promote the survival of retinal ganglion cells, the optic nerve cells normally damaged in glaucoma.

Noriko Esumi, MD, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology, is studying factors that control inflammation in age-related macular degeneration.

These were among 21 grants totaling $2.1 million recently awarded by the AHAF, which will support research projects in glaucoma and macular degeneration in the United States and abroad.

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