Resident Grant Program
Each year the ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation offers research grants to ABVO-approved residents in areas of veterinary ophthalmology. Residents must be sponsored by their ABVO mentor(s). We are pleased to announce that beginning in 2023, the amount available per project has increased to $7,500.
The ACVO-VAF will support research supplies, materials, limited equipment, publication and limited salary for technical support.
The ACVO-VAF does not support the salary of the resident, salary of the faculty mentor, tuition, major equipment, or institutional indirect costs.
Animal related experiments require approval by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee with the proposal submission.
Results of funded research must be presented at the Annual ACVO Conference.
The deadline grant applications is Monday, December 1, 2025 at 11:59 pm ET.
Applicants should utilize the Resident Grant Instructions and Grant Template.
Also see our Sample Grant Terms and Conditions document (pdf), Clinical Trial Research Study Owner Informed Consent Form and Animals in Research Policy
The VAF is pleased to provide examples of two successful proposals, for applicants to review, if needed.
Click here and here to review these sample proposals.
Please note these applications were funded several years ago, so the formatting may not be an exact match with the current template. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited.
Applications are reviewed and scored by the VAF’s Grants Committee and applicants will be notified of funding decisions by January 31, 2025.
2024 Resident Grant Award Winners
The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is pleased to announce the 2024 Resident Grant Award recipients. Award winners will receive a combined total of $37,500. Grantees are:
Albert D’Agostino, DVM, University of Missouri, $7,500
The Effects of Age on the Canine Tear Proteome
Sonja Ing, DVM, Iowa State University, $7,500
Novel Treatment of Bovine Infectious Keratitis in Bovine Corneas using Ultraviolet-C (UVC) Light
Kazu Oikawa, DVM, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, $7,500
Evaluating a Novel Topical EP2 Receptor Agonist as a Treatment for Feline Glaucoma
Allison H. Shannon, DVM, University of California-Davis, $7,500
Effects of phacoemulsification and diabetes mellitus on corneal endothelial health in dogs
Emily K. Tucker-Retter, DVM, PhD, North Carolina State University, $7,500
Pilot Study: Prognostic value of VEP and RNFL thickness in dogs with acute optic neuritis
The VAF has awarded $501, 940.75 in resident grants since 2004. Click Here to review a List of Past Grant Recipients.
