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Summer 2020 Newsletter from ISPB and Prevent Blindness IL
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Register Today, Join Us Tomorrow!
Focus on Eye Health National Summit: An Eye to the Future
July 15, 2020 - 12:00-3:00pm Eastern
Prevent Blindness will host the 9th annual Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health National Summit – A Virtual Event, on July 15, 2020, from 12-3pm Eastern time. This year’s Summit will include a variety of presentations related to this year’s theme, "An Eye to the Future.” Participants are invited to view presentations from leaders in science, public health, and vision researchers. Attendees may also visit sponsor booths in the virtual exhibit hall, participate in Q&A with presenters, and gather in the event “lounge” to network with other participants. Visit our event webpage to view the agenda.
Virtual Exhibit hall booths and chat rooms will be open to visit from 11am to 4pm Eastern on the day of the event.
REGISTER TODAY
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Congratulations to ISPB's latest group of researchers!
Each year the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness (ISPB) offers unique grant opportunities supporting mentored pre-clinical or clinical research programs designed to foster junior investigator development while advancing clinical care in ophthalmology and optometry. ISPB is proud to announce the following 2020 Research Grant Recipients:
| Illinois College of Optometry |
Northwestern University/Lurie Children's Hospital |
| Mallory McLaughlin, OD |
Nathaniel Henning |
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| Loyola University |
University of Illinois at Chicago |
| *Volodymyr Didorchuk |
*Basma Baccouche |
| *Anita Ghosh |
Nikhil Dhall |
| Sheena Khanna, MD |
Raj Patel |
| Clayton Kirk, MD |
Chandrashekhar Patil |
| James Qiao |
Ghasem Yazdanpanah |
| Erica Smith, MD |
Catherine Wang |
| Mark Solinski |
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University of Chicago |
| Northwestern University |
Ema Avdagic, MD |
| Melanie Daulton, MD |
Lindsay Chun, MD |
| Timothy Janetos, MD |
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| Peter Nesper |
Rush Hospital |
| Janice Ong |
E. Annie Shepherd, MD |
| Alisa Prager, MD |
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| Jessica Song |
*ISPB Named Award Recipients |
| Jacob Wang |
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A Special "Shout-Out" to ISPB's Named Research Award Recipients
Recipients: Basma Baccouche, Anita Ghosh, and Volodymyr Didorchuk
James A. McKechnie, Jr. Award
This award is in memory of ISPB Executive Director, James A. McKechnie. It is given to a Ph.D. candidate or fellow with the highest quality grant proposal based on the relevance of the research, clarity of thesis and quality of writing. This year’s awardee is Basma Baccouche of the University of Illinois College of Medicine with her project "Anti-VEGF therapy in Proliferative diabetic retinopathy: The role of anti-VEGF effector Follistatin in regulating vascular barrier homeostasis."
Helen and Wesley E. Bass, Jr. AMD Award
In memory and honor of former ISPB Director Wesley E. Bass, and his wife Helen, this award is given to the principal investigator with the highest quality AMD grant proposal based on the relevance of the research, clarity of thesis and quality of writing. The 2020 awardee is Anita Ghosh of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine with her project, "Targeting the thioredoxin system in AMD."
Donna J. Dreiske Award
This year's awardee is Volodymyr Didorchuk of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine for his project, "Aspirin-Triggered Lipoxin A4 Attenuation of TM Cell Profibrotic Responses." This award is in honor of former ISPB Executive Director, Donna J. Dreiske. It is presented yearly to a medical student or resident with the highest standard in a grant proposal based on relevance of research, clarity of thesis and quality of writing. |
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New Initiative Encourages the Graves' Community to FOCUS on Eye Health
In support of Graves' Disease Awareness Month, Horizon Therapeutics and Prevent Blindness have launched an initiative encouraging people who are living with Graves' disease to FOCUS on their eye health by recognizing the symptoms of a separate, but related, disease called Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). Up to half of people with Graves' disease will develop TED - a serious, progressive and vision-threatening rare autoimmune disease that causes painful symptoms like eye bulging, double vision and facial disfigurement.
The initiative, which was developed with input from the Graves’ disease and TED community, features a memory device that uses the word FOCUS to help people take steps to recognize and manage TED. All FOCUS resources will be posted throughout the month of July to the Listen to Your Eyes Facebook community. Additional information about TED can be found at ThyroidEyes.com and on the Prevent Blindness website.
Now through July 31, 2020, Horizon will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to Prevent Blindness each time the FOCUS graphic is shared on social media.
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National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness to Release Revised Guidelines on Community Vision Programs
The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) at Prevent Blindness is collaborating with our national partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as their expert Advisory Committee, to develop considerations for implementation of vision and eye health program administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. These considerations will address screening and referral protocols, based on evidence-based practices, during COVID-19 for use by community-based programs, home visiting programs, early childhood care and education, and schools.
The NCCVEH will also address vision screening and early identification of possible vision disorders in a variety of scenarios, including in-person and virtual instruction.These considerations are expected to be made available by July 30, 2020. For more information, please visit this posting on the Center's website.
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Prevent Blindness Urges Senate HELP Committee to Prioritize Vision and Eye Health in COVID-19 Response
In response to a Senate HELP Committee white paper on preparing for pandemics, Prevent Blindness urged the Committee to include vision and eye health surveillance as part of a national response strategy to the COVID-19 crisis and any future pandemic responses. Recently released surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that several trends associated with the most serious complications of COVID-19 are analogous to risk of vision loss and eye disease, including age, racial and ethnic minority populations, and chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart problems.
Prevent Blindness Illinois has asked the Committee to ensure Americans have health care coverage and know their options before a public health emergency is declared, and to review the policies related to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read our response here.
For any questions, please contact Sara Brown, Director of Government Affairs.
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Join Prevent Blindness IL and the National Eye Institute (NEI) for Healthy Vision Month 2020!
This year’s theme is Eye Health Is My Health. NEI is putting a spotlight on the connection between eye health and overall health — and you can help! Together, we can help encourage people across the country to take steps to keep their eyes healthy — now and in the future.
Visit NEI’s Healthy Vision Month website for information and resources to help spread the word in July — and all year round.
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