The American Academy of Ophthalmology and eye care nonprofit Research to Prevent Blindness awarded grants to four researchers Sept. 1 in support of population-based studies on ophthalmology and blindness research.
All grant recipients, who each received $35,000, will use the AAO's Intelligent Research in Sight Registry, a database that tracks eye diseases and treatments, for their studies. They will be trained on how to use the database, and their results will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication within six months of completion.
Ta Chen Peter Chang, MD, an associate professor at the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, received a grant for a study that will look into treatment outcomes of childhood glaucoma.
Jennifer Patnaik, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado in Denver, will examine diagnosis and treatment of acanthamoeba keratitis.
Andrew Williams, MD, an ophthalmologist at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, will review glaucoma patients' adherence with follow-up exams and its effect on their vision.
Nakul Shekhawat, MD, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, will evaluate the effectiveness of different medications for shingles patients, with an age-based analysis that could affect vaccination recommendations.