AEVR ANNOUNCES MARCH 2015 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS ON GLAUCOMA AND DEFENSE-RELATED VISION RESEARCH

(Washington, D.C.) Today, the Alliance for Eye and Vision (AEVR) announced Congressional Briefings to be held in March 2015 that support the vision community’s request for increased Fiscal Year (FY 2016 appropriations for the National Eye Institute (NEI) and the Peer Reviewed Vision Trauma Research Program (VTRP) in Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations. RSVP for both events to Dina Beaumont at 202-530-4672 or dinabeau@aol.com.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
World Glaucoma Week 2015 Congressional Briefing—“Glaucoma’s Public Health Challenge: Controlling Intraocular Pressure (IOP) in
At-Risk Populations”
12 Noon – 1:15 pm House Rayburn B-340

Featured speaker Steven Mansberger, M.D., M.P.H. (Legacy Devers Eye Institute), whose research has been funded by the NEI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will explain how IOP is measured and controlled, with an emphasis on drug regimen adherence across at-risk ethnic populations.

The event is co-sponsored by Research to Prevent Blindness, the American Glaucoma Society, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Glaucoma Research Foundation, Optometric Glaucoma Society, and The Glaucoma Foundation.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Deployment-Related Vision Trauma Research: “Understanding Light Sensitivity In Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury"
12 Noon – 1:15 pm House Rayburn B-340

Featured speaker Andrew Hartwick, O.D., Ph.D. (Ohio State University College of Optometry), who is funded through a DOD/VTRP award, will discuss his research into the retina—the light sensitive back of the eye—and how intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) act as irradiance detectors, providing the brain with information about the amount of light present in the environment. Following TBI, the ipRGCs respond to dimmer light levels, contributing to photophobia. By monitoring the response of the eye’s pupil to flickering light, he hopes to characterize ipRGC sensitivity in TBI patients.

The event is co-sponsored by Research to Prevent Blindness, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and Blinded Veterans Association.

Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, is proud to announce these educational programs associated with its Decade of Vision 2010-2020 Initiative, a sustained educational effort acknowledged by Congress that recognizes the benefits of federally funded vision research. Visit its Web site at www.eyeresearch.org