Fall 2002 - Winter 2003

Inside this issue
American Diabetes Month	Community Health Charities of Illinois
2002 ISPB Research Grants	Research Updates
VISION USA Program (AOA)	DISCOVERY 2002 — Low Vision Conference
Arol Augsburger, O.D., President, ICO	2002 ISPB Lectureships (COS and IOA)
Assistive Technology – Loans	Positions Announced
Floaters and Flashes	Remembrances
Vision Screening for Children	Quick Tips
Selecting a Toy for That Special Child

2002 ISPB Grants Awarded to Seven Institutions

The Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness awarded ten research grants to seven Illinois institutions in 2002. Totaling nearly $27,000, these ISPB grants will help fund a broad range of important research projects focusing on eye care and eye diseases at the following institutions:

Edward Hines, Jr. V.A. Hospital; Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (Glenbrook Hospital); Illinois College of Optometry; Loyola University Chicago (Maywood); Northwestern University; RUSH University and The University of Illinois at Chicago.

The ISPB research program was established to support exploratory research studies in vision, especially as they related to the prevention of blindness.

The research grants have provided important initial funding for key vision research at Illinois institutions and have assisted a number of researchers to obtain continued funding from other institutions.

Grant Recipients

Kristin J. Al-Ghoul, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Molecular Architecture of the Basal Membrane Complex of Lens Fibers During Posterior Subcapsular Cataract Formation (RUSH University);

Charles S. Bouchard, M.D., Principal Investigator, Topical Pharmacology and Toxicity of Chlorhexidine in the Management of Microbial Keratitis (Loyola University Chicago -Maywood);

Bienvenido V. Castillo, Jr., M.D., Principal Investigator, Isolation and Culture of Porcine Retinal Stem Cells (Loyola University Chicago - Maywood);

Sandeep Grover, M.D., Principal Investigator, Identification of Tumor Necrosis Factory-a(TNF-a), TNF-a Receptors and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) in Corneas with Peripheral Ulcerative Keratitis (The University of Illinois at Chicago);

Vijay Sarthy, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Role of Gas1 Gene in Retinal Ischemia (Northwestern University);

Jennifer Smith, M.D., Principal Investigator, Potential Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Familial Uveal Melanoma (Evanston Northwestern Health-care – Glenbrook Hospital);

Joan Stelmack, O.D., Principal Investigator, Tools and Methods to Evaluate Eccentric Viewing Training (Edward Hines, Jr. V.A. Hospital);

Jay I. Perlman, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Functional Changes in the Diabetic Retina (Edward Hines, Jr. V.A. Hospital);

Michael V. Volin, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Chemokine and Chemokine Receptor Expression in Rat Endotoxin-induced Uveitis (Illinois College of Optometry);

Rebecca K. Zoltoski, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, The Effect of Insulin on the Suture Patterns and Optical Properties of Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rat Lens (Illinois College of Optometry).

The Visionary, published as a service of the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness,
is available upon request. The information contained in this issue,
taken from sources considered to be accurate,
does not replace the need for professional eye care consultations and treatments.

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