The Pediatric Cataract Initiative is now accepting applicants for its inaugural single small research grant. A grant of USD$75,000 will be awarded to a qualified individual, institution or organisation investigating the causes of pediatric cataract and/or improved treatment tools and protocols.
The newly founded Pediatric Cataract Initiative is a partnership between the Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute and Lions Clubs International Foundation to identify, fund and promote innovative methods of overcoming pediatric cataract – a debilitating childhood condition that clouds the eye’s natural lens – for the long-term benefit of children, their families and their communities.
At the launch of the Pediatric Cataract Initiative in Australia on 29 June this year, Dr. Lipika Roy, head of Asia-Pacific Medical Affairs, Bausch + Lomb said the key to successful paediatric cataract management is to recognise the condition between birth and 10 years old.
“The child then needs to be taken to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist during this period, so that the problem can be diagnosed and the child can be given the right treatment, whether this is a contact lens or glasses, or more importantly, surgery to remove the cataract.
The submission deadline for the Pediatric Cataract Initiative single research grant is 15 November 2010.
“It has to be a recipe of three things: one, treatment; two, the right timing and three, compliance to get a satisfactory visual result. If you do not do this in the right timeframe, you will not get a satisfactory result.”
In addition to its global research grant, the Initiative is committing funding and support during its first year to innovative, scalable prevention and treatment programs in the People’s Republic of China, where at least 40,000 children are estimated to suffer from pediatric cataract. The prevalence of pediatric cataract ranges from one to four children per 10,000 births in developing countries – ten times the rate of occurrence in developed nations.
The submission deadline for the Pediatric Cataract Initiative single research grant is 15 November 2010.
Bausch+Lomb's Paul Sartori and Al Brandel from Lions Clubs International
Bausch+Lomb's Paul Sartori, speaking at the launch of the Pediatric Cataract Initiative at the Lions conference in Sydney, Australia June 2010
Bausch+Lomb's Paul Sartori, Kelly Mirabello, Dr. Lipika Roy, Mike McDougall and Dr. Joe Barr
The grant is intended to support innovative research that can be carried out in 12 months with limited resources. Applicants may submit more than one proposal provided that each is scientifically distinct. Please visit www.pediatriccataract.org/grant_funding.html to download the complete request for proposals.
For additional information, visit http://www.PediatricCataract.org or follow the Initiative at www.twitter.com/PCInitiative and www.Facebook.com/PediatricCataract.
