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The Lasker/IRRF initiative for innovation in vision science amblyopia: Challenges and opportunities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2018

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Visual Neuroscience , Volume 35 , 2018, E010
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Background and acknowledgments

The Lasker/IRRF Initiative for Innovation in Vision Science (Initiative) is a ten-year collaboration, launched in July 2008, between the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation (Lasker)Footnote 1 and the International Retinal Research Foundation (IRRF).Footnote 2 The Initiative was designed to identify knowledge gaps in vision research and propose innovative strategies to accelerate the discovery of sight-saving treatments and methods to prevent diseases of the eye, especially retinal degenerative diseases, using novel scientific, engineering, and technological approaches.

The Initiative has conducted three studies to date: Astrocytes and Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration (2010), Diabetic Retinopathy: Where We Are and A Path to Progress (2012) and Restoring Vision to the Blind. (2014). Each of these reports may be viewed and downloaded at http://www.irrfonline.org/laskerirrf.html or http://www.laskerfoundation.org/programs/lasker-irrf-initiative-innovation-vision-science/.

In addition, in 2015, the Initiative conducted a follow-up of the 2010 Initiative to assess outcomes from its examination of glaucoma, i.e., where the field is now, whether and how the report stimulated innovative lines of research, what scientific hurdles have been overcome, and what problems now confront the field. This report has been published as a special edition of Experimental Eye Research, April 2017; Vol. 157, pp. 1–38.

For this report on amblyopia, John E. Dowling, Chairman of the Initiative, appointed a Steering Committee to define goals and key issues for exploration by invited participants. During the summer of 2015, two workshops were convened at the NAS J. Erik Jonsson Center in Woods Hole, MA. Each workshop consisted of nearly 30 scientists and clinicians with different backgrounds and expertise; they identified core questions and key issues that impeded progress in the field, leading to a more formal meeting in March 2016 at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn VA. The report chapters are the result of targeted breakout sessions held at the Janelia meeting, but all participants had the opportunity to comment on the entire report. We have tried to achieve a consensus document, but not all participants may agree with everything in the report.

The Initiative gratefully acknowledges both the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for its very generous in-kind contribution by making available the facilities at its Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA, for the Initiative’s plenary session, and the staff of the National Academy of Sciences’ J. Erik Jonsson Center in Woods Hole, MA, for their gracious hospitality during the two summer workshops.

The Initiative gratefully acknowledges Visual Neuroscience (VNS) for publishing this report as a special edition of its online journal.

Footnotes

1 About the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation: Founded in 1942, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation envisions a healthier world through sustained support for basic and clinical medical research. The Foundation works to accomplish its mission through education and advocacy and, most notably, through a prestigious annual awards program. Lasker Award winners are selected by their peers, who, like themselves, include the world’s most accomplished and well-respected medical research scientists, and thus the award represents a special honor. The Foundation’s education and advocacy missions focus on engaging the public and policymakers on the importance of robust medical research programs and the funding to make them possible. The Lasker Foundation is also dedicated to supporting and inspiring the next generation of research scientists. For more information about the Lasker Foundation and its programs, visit http://www.laskerfoundation.org.

2 About the International Retinal Research Foundation: The IRRF upholds a commitment to accelerate and sustain targeted research efforts into the diseases of the human eye, especially those affecting the retina and macula, to discover the causes, preventions, and cures of retinal and macular degenerative diseases and diabetic retinopathy. The IRRF accomplishes its mission by providing financial support for vision research directly, as well as through training fellowships, public awareness programs, and the promotion of the exchange of research findings. For more information about the IRRF, please visit http://www.irrfonline.org.