Department of Defense Vision Research Program
Established in Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations, the Department of Defense's Vision Reseach Program (VRP) is the primary source of funding that supports research into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of vision loss and dysfunction resulting from combat trauma.
FY2022 VRP Justification
Abstracts for previously funded VRP projects are listed below.
FY2019 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Audrey Bowden, Battlefield-Ready Fully Handheld Anterior-Segment Optical Coherence Tomography
Dr. Maria Valeria Canto-Soler, 3D Retinal Transplants Derived from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Treat Combat Laser-Induced Blindness
Dr. Sunil Chauhan, A Novel Target for Faster Wound Closure in Ocular Trauma
Dr. Gere DiZerega, Phase 2 Enabling Evaluations of USB005 for Treatment of Corneal Injuries
Dr. Laura Ensign, Development of Drug-Eluting, Absorbable Sutures for Ocular Trauma Surgery
Dr. Anat Galor, Automated Assessment of Visual Photosensitivity in Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr. David Gamm, Outer Retina Reconstruction for Combat Afflictions (ORRCA)
Dr. Gautam Ghatnekar, Evaluation of the Clinical Safety of a Novel Peptide-Based Topical Therapeutic to Promote Corneal Regeneration
Dr. Andy Hartwick, Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Retinal Ganglion Cell Light Adaptation
Dr. Joseph Izatt, Automated OCT Technology Translation to Diagnose Traumatic Eye Injury
Dr. Cindy Linn, Neurogenesis and Recovery of Visual Function After Blast Exposure
Dr. Nawajes Mandal, Therapeutic Potential of n-3 PUFAs TBI Mediated Visual Dysfunction
Dr. Shigemi Matsuyama, Prevention of Blindness by Novel Cytoprotective Small Compounds
Dr. Benoit Mouzon, Amnion Cell Secretome Mediated Therapy for the Restoration of Traumatic Optic Neuropathy After Brain Trauma
Dr. Missag Parseghian, Rapid Delivery of Hsp72 for Ocular Cytoprotection After a Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr. Eleftherios Paschalis Ilios, A Minimally Invasive Artificial Cornea for Vision Restoration in Severely Injured Eyes
Dr. Jose Rios, Development and Validation of a Novel Specialized Proresolving Mediators (SPM) Therapy to Counter Blast-Related Eye Injuries
Dr. Baerbel Rohrer, Strategies to Reduce Visual Pathway Damage Secondary to Brain Trauma
Dr. Walter Schneider, High-Definition Axonal and Connective Tissue Imaging (HD-ACTI) in Porcine and Human Models of Traumatic Optic Nerve Injury
Dr. Amanda Staudt, Epidemiology of Combat Ocular Injury to Guide Prolonged Field Care
Dr. Hongli Wu, Retina-Targeted Estrogen Prodrug: A New Concept for Retinal Protection
Dr. Jia Yin, Supersaturated Oxygen Emulsion as a Novel Topical Treatment for Ocular Chemical Injury
FY2018 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Regenerative Lipids in Traumatic Glaucomatous Neuropathies
Dr. Yiqin Du, Early Intervention Stem Cell-Based Therapy (EISCBT) for Corneal Burns and Trauma
Dr. Leonard Levin, Novel Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Therapeutic Tools for Battlefield Optic Nerve Trauma
Dr. Wei Li, Targeted Treatment of Traumatic Optic Neuropathy Inspired by Neuroprotective Adaptations of Hibernation
Dr. Daniel Palankar, High-Resolution Retinal Prosthesis for Restoring Sight to Patients Blinded by Retinal Injury or Degeneration
Dr. Kevin Park, Novel Combinatorial Approaches to Repair Visual System After Optic Nerve Damage
Dr. Konstantin Petrukhin, Fluorenone Drug for Treatment of Combat-Related Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
Dr. Magali Saint-Geniez, Targeting Metabolic Reprogramming for the Prevention and Treatment of Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy
Dr. Ellen Townes-Anderson, Protecting Neural Circuitry After Injury
Dr. Steven Wilson, Corneal Basement Membranes and Injury-Related Scarring
Dr. Charles Yu, Intraocular Microdisplay Projection for Vision Restoration After Corneal Blindness
FY2017 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Colleen Cebula, Macrophage Migration Inhibitor (MIF) Therapeutics for Neuroprotection and Prevention of Scar in Traumatic Retinal Detachment
Dr. Joseph Ciolino, Steroid-Eluting Therapeutic Contact Lens to Treat and Prevent Inflammation and Scarring Following Ocular Trauma
Dr. Reza Dana, Novel Adhesive Biomaterials for Quick and Long-Lasting Sutureless Repair of Corneal Injuries
Dr. Ali Djalilian, Phase I/II Multicenter Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Severe Ocular Surface Chemical Injuries
Dr. Shelley Fried, A Microcoil-Based Cortical Visual Prosthesis
Dr. Paul Michael Iuvone, HIOC Derivatives for the Treatment of Trauma-Induced Vision Loss
Dr. Matthew Maltese, Development of a Suitcase-Sized Portable Digital Stereoscopic Ophthalmic Microscope with Surgical Telepresence/Telemedicine Capability
Dr. Nathan Ravi, Preclinical Development of Reverse-Engineered Vitreous Substitutes
FY2016 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Vinay Aakalu, Histatin Peptides as a Treatment for Ocular Surface Injury and Prevention of Corneal Neovascularization
Dr. Joseph Arboleda-Velasquez, Testing the Preclinical Efficacy of Therapies for Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy
Dr. Gregory Bramblett, Development and Validation of a Smart-Memory Intravitreal Tamponade Stent for Retinal Detachment in Combat Ocular Trauma
Dr. Warren Grayson, Complex Orbital Reconstruction
FY2015 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Gere DiZerega, Clinical Safety Evaluation of USB005 for Treatment of Traumatic Corneal Lacerations
Dr. Rajashekhar Gangaraju, Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Alleviate Visual Deficits in Blast Injury
Dr. Wilson Heriot, Retinal Detachment Repair Without Tamponade by Thermofusion of the Retina and RPE for Rapid Vision Restoration and Safe Air Transport
Dr. Joseph Izatt, OCT Technology Development to Assess Ocular Integrity and Characterize Intraocular Scatterers
Dr. Rajendra Kumar-Singh, Rapid Delivery of Protein Therapeutics into Retinal and Corneal Cells Following Intravitreal Injection
Dr. Noorjahan Panjwani, Development of a Small Molecule Drug Targeting Galectin-3 to Prevent Neovascularization and Fibrosis of Ocular Tissues
Dr. Monte Radeke, Treatment Strategies for Blinding Combat Retinal Injury Employing Combinatorial Therapeutics
FY2014 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Lipid Neuroprotectants and Traumatic Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration
Dr. Ricardo Carvalho, Episcleral Cox-2 and Steroid Agents as Comprehensive Therapeutic Interventions for IED-Related Traumatic Ocular Injuries
Dr. Edward Chaum, Nutlin Analogues for the Prevention and Treatment of Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy in Ocular Trauma
Dr. Joseph Ciolino, Sustained Corticosteroid Release From a Novel Therapeutic Contact Lens Drug Delivery System for the Treatment of Ocular Inflammation and Corneal Neovascularization
Dr. Daniel Palanker, Photovoltaic Retinal Prosthesis for Restoring Sight to Patients Blinded by Retinal Injury or Degeneration
Dr. Matthew Reilly, Torsion-Induced Traumatic Optic Neuropathy (TITON): Animal Model for Diagnostics, Drug Delivery, and Therapeutics for Injuries to the Central Nervous System
Dr. Lawrence Rizzolo, Maturation and Implantation of Engineered Retinal Tissue Grafts
Dr. Michael Steketee, Applying Extracellular Matrix Technology to Neuroprotect and to Repair Injured Retina and Optic Nerve
Dr. Gere di Zerega, NorLeu3-A(1-7) Stimulates Corneal Repair After Injury
Dr. Sunil Chauhan, Modulation of Ocular Inflammation by Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Dr. Stephen Macknik, An Unconventional Approach to Reducing Retinal Degeneration After Traumatic Ocular Injury
Dr. David Kaplan, Antimicrobial Silk Ocular Drug Delivery Implant for Chronic Posterior Segment Diseases
FY2013 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. James Akula, Visual and Retinal Correlates of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Biology and Behavior
Dr. Lu Chen, Novel Strategy to Combat Corneal Injury at Early and Late Stages and to Promote Transplant Survival
Dr. Douglas Dean, Vision Restoration with Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Following Traumatic Injury
Dr. Ali Djalilian, Clinical Translation of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Corneal and Ocular Surface Injuries
Dr. Jon Froehlich, HandSight: Supporting Everyday Activities through Touch-Vision
Dr. Samuel Fulcher, Inflammation Modulatory Protein TSG-6 for Chemical Injuries to the Cornea
Dr. James Funderburgh, Early Intervention Stem Cell-Based Therapy (EISCBT) for Corneal Burns and Trauma
Dr. Vijay Gorantla, Novel Strategies for Optic Neuroregeneration and Retinal Projection Reintegration After Ocular Trauma
Dr. Katherine Hajjar, Annexin A2 in Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy
Dr. Jeffrey Mumm, Discovery of FDA-Approved Drugs that Promote Retinal Cell Survival or Regeneration
Dr. Andrew Pieper, Prevention and Treatment of TBI-Mediated Visual and Brain Damage Using a Novel Protective Compound
Dr. Morgana Trexler, EMERGE: Engineered Materials that Create Environments for Regeneration via Electric Field
Dr. Derek Welsbie, Targeting Dual Leucine Zipper Kinase as a Therapeutic Strategy for Traumatic Optic Neuropathy and Brain Injury
Dr. Joseph Brzezinski, Programming Retinal Stem Cells into Cone Photoreceptors
Dr. Shaochen Chen, Layer-by-Layer Bioprinting of Stem Cells for Retinal Tissue Regeneration
Dr. William Jia, Smart, Injury-Triggered Therapy for Ocular Trauma
Dr. Lora Likova, Mechanisms of Photophobia in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Human Subjects: Therapeutic Implications
Dr. Alfredo Martinez, Hypothermia in the Treatment of Retinal Injury
Dr. Cheryl Olman, Frontoparietal Priority Maps as Biomarkers for mTBI
Dr. Kia Washington, Improving Viability and Functional Outcome After Whole Eye Transplantation
Dr. Stephen Wong, Mobile, Multimodal, Label-Free Imaging Probe Analysis of Choroidal Oximetry and Retinal Hypoxia
FY2011-2012 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Kenneth Ciuffreda, Treatment of TBI Induced Oculomotor Dysfunction
Dr. Brittany Coats, Temporary Progression of Closed Globe Injury from Blast Exposure
Dr. James DeMar, Ameliorate Effects of Blast Pressure on the Eye and Brain
Dr. Cintia De Paiva, Programmable Micro Wafer Drug Delivery for Ocular Trauma
Dr. Eldon Geisert, Genetic Networks Activated by Blast Injury to the Eye
Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, Enhancing Optic Nerve Regeneration after Trauma
Dr. Walter Gray, Sub Lethal Ocular Trauma
Dr. Andrew Hartwick, Retinal Ganglion Cell Photoreceptors in TBI Patients with Photophobia
Dr. Mark Humayun, Thermo Responsive Patch for Ocular Trauma
Dr. Pavel Iserovich, Pharmalogical Treatment for Combat Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
Dr. Michael Iuvone, TrkB Activators for the Treatment of Traumatic Vision Loss
Dr. Joseph Izatt, Field Deployable OCT for Triage of Ocular Trauma
Dr. David Krizaj, Characterization of Molecular Mechanism of Ocular Blast Trauma
Dr. Rajendra Kumar-Singh, Platform for Rapid Delivery of Biologics and Drugs to Ocular Cells and Tissues following Trauma
Dr. Andrew MacKay, Treatment of Cornea Using Transcytotic Delivery in the Tear Film
Dr. Sheila Nirenberg, Retinal Prosthetic with Capacity to Produce Normal Vision
Dr. Daniel Palanker, Restoration of the Retinal Structure and Function after Injury
Dr. Kevin Park, Approaches to Repair Visual System after Optic Nerve Damage
Dr. Jena Steinle, Novel Drug Prevents Retinal Inflammatory Mediators and Apoptosis
Dr. Philip Troyk, Implantation of an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis
Dr. Shaomei Wang, Non Invasive Cell Based Therapy for Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
FY2009-2010 Vision Research Program Abstracts
Dr. Nicholas Brecha, A Novel Approach to Alleviating Aberrant Calcium Signaling Causing Retinal Cell Loss in Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
Dr. Stacey Choi, Ultrahigh Resolution Retinal Imaging with Adaptive Optics for Early Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr. Kenneth Ciuffreda, Treatment of TBI-Induced Oculomotor Dysfunctions and Associated Reading Problems
Dr. Colin Doherty, Evaluation of an Acute RNAi-Mediated Therapeutic for Visual Dysfunction Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr. Randy Kardon, Objective Methods to Test Visual Dysfunction in the Presence of Cognitive Impairment
Dr. Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, Computational Model of the Eye for Primary and Secondary Blast Trauma
Dr. Yury Petrov, Oculomotor Reflexes as a Test of Visual Dysfunctions in Cognitively Impaired Observers
Dr. Uri Polat, A Behavioral Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury Associated Visual Dysfunction Based on Adult Cortical Plasticity
Dr. Richard Regueiro, Simulation of Blast Loading on an Ultrastructurally-Based Computation Model of the Ocular Lens
Dr. Tonia Rex, Treatment of Traumatic Vision Loss in a New Mouse Model of Blast Injury
Dr. Gregory Schultz, Reduction of Corneal Scarring Following Blast and Burn Injuries to Cornea Using siRNAs Targeting TGFb and CTGF
Dr. James Weiland, Wearable Visual Aid as Treatment for TBI Associated Visual Dysfunction