Join the VAF for our annual fundraiser on Friday, September 22nd at House of Blues in Boston.  This year, our event features the return of the Optic Nerds *-  a band of ACVO diplomates that has been on hiatus since the 1990s.  This may be their last gig… so you definitely don’t want to miss their performance!  The party will also include live and silent auctions, snacks and adult beverages.   More details coming soon!

*Members of the Optic Nerds: Drs. Chuck Stuhr, Brad Nadelstein, Albert Muganham, Ian Herring, Dennis Donahue and Dan Binder

The VAF is pleased to announce a grant of $75,000, awarded to Dr. Bret Moore, University of Florida, for his proposal, The outcomes, risk factors, and risk mitigators of phacoemulsification in veterinary ophthalmology: a 22-institutional multivariate analysis to guide current therapy and future prospective studies.

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is pleased to announce the 2022 Resident Grant Award recipients.  Award winners will receive a combined total of $15,000.

Dr. Brayden Routh, University of Missouri, $5,000
Evaluation of a Novel Ophthalmic Formulation for the Treatment of Corneal Fibrosis

Dr. Bactelius Turicea, Iowa State University, $5,000
Novel Treatment of Infectious Keratitis in Canine Corneas using Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) Light

Dr. April Beatty, Ohio State University, $5,000
Survey Assessment of Ophthalmic Diagnosis Parameters, Conjunctival Flora and Ocular Health of a Large Population of American Alligators

Thank you to the Grants Committee (see list of members below) and to all of the ABVO residents who submitted proposals this year.

ACVO Vision for Animals Grants Committee:  Dr. Georgina Newbold, Chair; Drs. Braidee Foote, Heather Chandler, Kelly Knickelbein, Andrew Lewin, Keiko Miyadera, Sami Pederson, Lionel Sebbag, Erin Scott, Gillian Shaw, Becky Telle, Kyle Tofflemire, Tomo Wiggans

The VAF is thrilled to announce the following 2021 Resident Grant award recipients.  The award winners will receive a combined total of $21,385.

Dr. Billie Beckwith-Cohen, Michigan State University
$5,000
Retinal remodeling and plasticity in a CABP4-mutant model of retinal degeneration

Dr. Kourtney Dowler, University of Missouri
$5,000
Ophthalmic viscoelastics commonly used in cataract surgery: a microbiota investigation

Dr. Michael Minaldi, Mississippi State University
$1,385
Effects of topical ropivacaine hydrochloride 0.5% and lidocaine hydrochloride 2% on corneal sensitivity in horses

Dr. Melanie Mironovich, Louisiana State University
$5,000
Utilizing polymeric antioxidant-loaded nanoparticles as a delivery system to mitigate photo-oxidative stress of whole porcine lenses in vitro

Dr. Brett Story, UC Davis
$5,000
Ocular pathology of Tay-Sachs disease in Jacob sheep

Thank you to Grants Committee Chair, Dr. Georgina Newbold, and committee members, Drs. Rachel Allbaugh, Heather Chandler, Andrew Lewin, Keiko Miyadera, Sami Pederson, Erin Scott, Gillian Shaw, Kyle Tofflemire, Sarah Thomasy and Tomo Wiggans. for your time and energy!

The VAF is pleased to announce that the 2021 Founders Clinical Research Grant, in the amount of $9,098, has been awarded to Dr. Ken Abrams and team for their submission, titled ‘*Olfaction Evaluation in Dogs with Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS); (Sniffin’ out SARDS!)*’.

Thank you to Dr. Andrew Lewin, Founders Clinical Research Grant Review Committee Chair, and Committee Members (Drs. Mike Brown, Cynthia Cook, Amanda Joslin, Brad Nadelstein and Dan Ward) for the time and energy that they dedicated to this project.

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2020 Large Grant program:

Defining the Pathophysiology of Hypercoagulability in Canine Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome
Dr. Freya Mowat
University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
$30, 227

Investigation into the Genetics of Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Multiple Ocular Coloboma
Dr. Tim Georoff
Philadelphia Zoo
$29,150

This year, the VAF has awarded a record amount – more than $81,000 – of grant funding to residents and diplomates for important research efforts.

A white paper, authored by invited participants in the ACVO Vision for Animal Foundation (VAF)’s Canine Glaucoma Think Tank (November 2017) and Canine Glaucoma Consortium*, has been published in Veterinary Ophthalmology.  The article, “The future of canine glaucoma therapy”, is published Open Access thanks to funding provided by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and the Veterinary Ophthalmology journal. 

*Authors: András M. Komáromy, Dineli Bras, Douglas W. Esson, Ronald L. Fellman, Sinisa D. Grozdanic, Larry Kagemann, Paul E. Miller, Sayoko E. Moroi, Caryn E. Plummer, John S. Sapienza, Eric S. Storey, Leandro B. Texeira, Carol B. Toris, Terah R. Webb.

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is proud to announce that our 2017 Canine Glaucoma grant, in the amount of $29,974, has been awarded to Dr. Hans Westermeyer, North Carolina State University, for his proposal, “Predicting the onset of intraocular pressure rises and retinal damage in primary angle closure glaucoma in dogs“. This two-year study will begin next week.

On Saturday, November 5th the VAF hosted a Think Tank focused on “Surgical Techniques for the Treatment of Canine Glaucoma”.  The results of this meeting will be published in a White Paper and recommendations will be used to prepare an RFP to fund research on this topic.  Thank you to VAF Board member Dr. András M. Komáromy for organizing this event.

Participants were:
Dr. Dineli Bras, Centro de Especialistas Veterinarios de Puerto Rico, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Dr. Douglas Esson, Eye Care for Animals, Tustin, CA
Dr. Ronald Fellman, Glaucoma Associates of Texas, Dallas, TX
Dr. Larry Kagemann, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. András M. Komáromy,Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Dr. Sakoyo Moroi, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. John Sapienza, Long Island Veterinary Specialists, Plainview, NY
Dr. Eric Storey, South Atlanta Animal Eye Clinic, Fayetteville, GA
Dr. Leandro Teixeira, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Dr. Carol Toris, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Dr. Terah Webb, MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, Columbus, OH