Department of Ophthalmology

WVU Eye Institute receives five-year $100K grant from WV Lions

A $100,000 multi-year grant from the West Virginia Lions Sight Conservation Foundation will help support the West Virginia University Eye Institute by providing research equipment.

The donation, announced Sunday (Jan. 27) during the state Lions Leadership School in Morgantown, marks the largest pledge made by the Sight Conservation Foundation in its history.

“The WVU Eye Institute is extremely appreciative of this tremendous gift from the West Virginia Lions community,” said Dr. Judie F. Charlton, newly appointed chair of the WVU Eye Institute. “This $100,000 investment will dramatically advance our research program to develop vision saving treatments and care for people in West Virginia and throughout the world.”

The pledge to be made over a five-year period will be used to purchase essential research equipment to advance the WVU Eye Institute’s ongoing and new state-of-the-art clinical and basic science research.

“The WVU Eye Institute values our long-time relationship with the Lions of West Virginia. This grant furthers their legacy of supporting vision conservation in West Virginia,” noted Dr. Charles Moore, assistant professor of Ophthalmology and West Virginia Lions liaison. The West Virginia Lions have a long history of providing support to the Institute, which provides vision care to patients from all 55 counties in West Virginia and to those in neighboring states.

“This gift demonstrates the commitment and partnership between the Lions of West Virginia and the West Virginia University Eye Institute’s research program to provide treatment and find cures for sight related diseases,” said Paul Amrhein, president of the board of trustees of the West Virginia Lions Sight Conservation Foundation.

The Institute’s research center was launched in late 2005 with a focus on researching vision areas including glaucoma, childhood blindness, low vision, night blindness, biochemistry of the eye, genetics of the eye, retina and cornea.

During the past two years, the WVU Eye Institute has recruited and hired three new basic sciences researchers who are leading the research program. In addition, several clinical research projects are underway.

WVU officials say the grant will further the Institute’s commitment to becoming a world-class, nationally recognized facility with high quality patient care, research and education.

For more information on the WVU Eye Institute and ways to support its research program, call 304-598-4843 or visit www.wvueye.com The gift is being made through the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University. -WVU- 1-28-08