AFER announces 2011 Genentech Fellowship recipients

ARVO Foundation for Eye Research (AFER) congratulates the first AFER/Genentech Age-related macular Degeneration Fellowship recipients — Balamurali K. Ambati, MD, PhD, and Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD. Each received $40,000 to support their age-related macular degeneration (AMD) research and will be honored at the 2012 ARVO Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 6, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"We are thrilled to present funding to these young investigators to advance knowledge and fundamental mechanisms of AMD, particularly since this is the first time the ARVO Foundation has given awards to foster research," said AFER Chair Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD, FARVO. "Thanks to the support of Genentech, we are able to assist these two scientists in their progression as innovators in this area of eye research."

Ambati, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual science and director of cornea research at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, will conduct translational AMD research with a focus on therapeutics. Specifically, his study involves RGD-targeted Flt23k-intraceptor nanoparticles for prevention and treatment of spontaneous choroidal neovascularization in a novel transgenic murine model of AMD.

Tsang, assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia University Medical Center, will examine stem cells in personalized, predictive and targeted medicine for AMD.

AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 60. It affects the macula, which is the part of the eye that allows us to see fine detail. AMD comes in two different forms, wet or dry. Wet AMD is more serious than dry AMD, but both can lead to central vision loss over time, leaving only peripheral vision.

The Genentech AMD fellowships are presented to investigators who are under the age of 45 at the application deadline. Fellowships are for a period of one year and will commence within six months of the award notification.

Provided by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology