Eye and vision organizations illuminate the National Eye Institute’s power to offer hope and effective treatment for millions of Americans
WASHINGTON — July 23, 2025 — The nation’s vision community is ramping up its defense of the National Eye Institute (NEI) and its 57-year track record of progress amid mounting threats to slash federal vision funding and consolidate the NEI into a broader institute on brain and dental research.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO), American Academy of Optometry (AAOptom), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) and Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) are working together to staunchly oppose any proposal to consolidate the NEI into a broader Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research and to preserve critical funding for vision research.
This week, we launched our #SeeWhatMatters campaign, an educational and grassroots advocacy effort to elevate the profile of federally funded vision research, reinforce the critical need to keep NEI independent, and demonstrate the human impact of discoveries in vision science. The campaign provides all stakeholders, including patients, researchers, clinicians, industry, and advocates with a unified message and shared tools to tell the story of why vision research matters to every American.
A few examples of what it means to #SeeWhatMatters:
- NEI research powered the development of a non-invasive imaging technology, ocular coherence tomography, that has revolutionized treatment of several blinding eye diseases and saved both Medicare and patients billions of dollars.
- NEI funding paved the way for the first vision-restoring treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This powerful class of drugs, called anti-VEGFs, stop vision loss in more than 90 percent of patients with AMD and improves vision in about one-third.
- NEI-supported scientists have used gene therapy to partially restore vision – for the very first time – to people with a blinding disease that begins in childhood, called Leber’s congenital amaurosis. NEI-funded researchers are now moving rapidly to develop gene therapy approaches for a range of inherited retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa.
- NEI is an early investor in groundbreaking work to end blindness in diabetes patients using artificial intelligence. Since 2004, NEI has continuously funded the work of ophthalmologist Dr. Michael Abramoff’s pioneering research. Dr. Abramoff is the first physician in any medical field to receive FDA clearance for an autonomous artificial intelligence system. The platform, LumineticsCore™ (formerly IDX-DR), can instantly diagnose diabetic retinopathy in a primary care physician’s office, a breakthrough that could prevent vision loss in thousands of people with diabetes annually.
- Now is not the time to diminish or defund the NEI. As our population ages, nearly every American will personally face a visual disease or disorder. Adequately funding NEI can prevent billions in expenditures across Medicare and Medicaid, private insurance, and family care costs. Vision loss is expected to cost the U.S. economy nearly $200 billion in 2025 alone through direct medical expenses and lost productivity.
“Since its establishment in 1968 as an institute independent of brain research, the NEI has proven how federal investments in vision science transform lives and lower long-term healthcare costs,” said Dan Ignaszewski, Executive Director of NAEVR/AEVR. “As proposals to fold NEI into a broader neuroscience institute grow, the #SeeWhatMatters campaign is a call to action to protect sight-saving science and keep vision research a national priority.”
We invite the entire vision research and eye care community to stand with us.
Learn more, explore the tools, and share your voice by visiting#SeeWhatMatters.org. Because speaking up for vision research now will protect the future of sight-saving treatments and cures.
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About NAEVR/AEVR
The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) is a nonprofit advocacy organization that serves as the leading voice for federally funded vision research. NAEVR advocates for sustained and robust investment in the National Eye Institute (NEI) and other federal agencies that support sight-saving science. Its educational partner, the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), complements this work by educating the public and policymakers about the value of vision research through briefings, events, and outreach initiatives. Together, the Alliances work to ensure that vision research remains a national priority—driving innovation, improving lives, and reducing long-term healthcare costs.
Research to Prevent Blindness
Thie #SeeWhatMatters campaign is made possible through the generous support of Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), whose mission is to preserve and restore vision by supporting high-quality research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of all blinding diseases. RPB’s investment enables NAEVR/AEVR to expand its educational and policy activities through a strategic, brand-agnostic campaign that unites the vision research community around the shared goal of protecting the NEI. At a time when the future of NEI is being debated, this work would not be possible without RPB’s continued leadership in advancing sight-saving science.
Media Contact:
Judy Hill
Communications & Public Affairs Officers
NAEVR/AEVR
Phone: (240) 351.3413
Email: [email protected]
Website: eyeresearch.org
