Emerging Vision Scientists Advocate, Educate, About the Value of Vision Research

The class of the Ninth Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day (see names in the box below) who participated in the AEVR and NAEVR events reflecting the breadth of breakthrough vision research and were nominated by their Departments of Ophthalmology or Schools/Colleges of Optometry from across the nation

On September 20, AEVR’s Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative hosted the Ninth Annual Emerging Vision Scientists (EVS) Day, which was supported by a grant from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). The event, held during Healthy Vision Month, took place as Congress was working to finalize Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations before the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

30 early-stage investigators from around the country, reflecting the breadth of basic and clinical vision research and who have not yet received their first investigator-initiated (R01) grant from the NEI, displayed posters of their research in an evening Congressional Reception held in the Rayburn House Office Building Courtyard. Earlier in the day, the EVSs had attended AEVR’s annual AMD Awareness Week Congressional Briefing to learn how to communicate the value of their research to a lay audience including Congressional staff.

AEVR Executive Director Dan Ignaszewski hosted a brief program that included comments from RPB President Brian Hofland, PhD and Shefa Gordon, PhD, Director of the Office of Program Planning and Analysis at the National Eye Institute (NEI).

Before the reception, AEVR staff prepared the EVSs on effective communication techniques and considerations for sharing their research, and the importance of sharing with Congressional staff about how federal support for basic science has led to advancements in the mitigation, diagnosis, and treatment of a range of conditions that lead to impaired vision and blindness.

Shefa Gordon, PhD, Director of the Office of Program Planning and Analysis at the National Eye Institute (NEI), addresses the audience	Brian Hofland, PhD, President of Research to Prevent Blindness
John Graham (Senate Special Committee on Aging) with Onur Olcucu, MD (Tufts Medical Center)	Deepayan Kar, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham speaks with an attendee

NAEVR Emerging Vision Scientist (EVS) Advocacy Day

Following the September 20 AEVR events, on September 21 the 30 EVS participants conducted 55 Congressional office visits, including several with Members of Congress, who wanted to hear directly about the concerns of early-stage investigators. NAEVR’s Executive Director Dan Ignaszewski and Director of Government Relations David Epstein, along with Salewa Akintilo from AVRO,  each joined several visits throughout the day.

In their meetings, the EVS advocates thanked Congress for NIH/NEI funding increases in the FY2016-2023 timeframe and asked that Congress finalize FY2024 appropriations before the start of the fiscal year on October 1. They also cautioned about the detrimental impact that Continuing Resolutions (CRs) can have on research, including delaying awards or requiring researchers to seek “bridge” funding while awaiting grant monies.

The advocates reiterated NAEVR’s request for FY2024 NIH funding of $50.1 billion and  NEI funding of $975 million, which is necessary to rebuild the NEI’s base funding level after years of increases that have failed to keep pace with inflation.  They also expressed that although the Senate-passed funding level of $896.5 million—the same level as in FY2023— is still short of what is needed, it is preferable to the House bill that while also flat-funding the NEI, makes severe cuts to the NIH funding level that would impact the ability of the NIH to conduct its mission to support the larger medical research community.

Several of the EVS participants shared a one-page graphic of their research emphasizing the potential benefit and return on the federal investment.

The participants also offered to serve as a reference on vision issues for their Congressional  offices and invited Members and staff to visit their department or School/College for lab tours.

TJ Hollingsworth, PhD (University of Tennessee) with Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN)	From left:  Mengyu Wang, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Mohammed Eslami, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Ananya Datta, BOptom, PhD, New England College of Optometry, Cong. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Onur Olcucu, MD, Tufts University Medical Center, and  Paolo Bispo, PhD, Harvard Medical School
From left: Pratima Suvas, PhD (Wayne State University), Sarah Shapiro, office of Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Sneha Singh, PhD (Wayne State University), and Phuc Nguyen, PhD and Shilpa Kodata, MD, both from the University of Michigan	From left: Kirk Hou, MD, PhD and Antonio Paniagua, PhD, both from the University of California Los Angeles, Sangeetha Kandoi, PhD, from the University of California San Francisco, Shreya Sirivolu and Sunny Lee, MD, PhD, both from the University of Southern California, with Priya Amilineni, office of Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)
Whitney Stuard Sambhariya, MD, PhD, Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins University, with Samara Brown, office of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Louay Almidani, MD, Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins University with Kenneth Downs, office of Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
From left: Sriganesh Ramachandra Rao, PhD, SUNY Buffalo, Sean Ashworth, PhD, New York University Langone Health, Jasmin Palomares, office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Brian Hofland, PhD and Diana Friedman, both from Research to Prevent Blindness, and Pooja Chauhan, PhD, New York University Langone Health	Christopher Conrady, MD, PhD, University of Nebraska, right, with Eduardo Sacasa, office of Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Garrett Reilly, office of Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) with Miranda Scalabrino, PhD, from the Medical College of Wisconsin	Nicole Wright, office of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Anh Pham, MD, PhD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Shwetha Mangalesh, MD, Duke University, with Elizabeth Adkins, office of Cong. Valerie Foushee (D-NC)	Mala Updadhyay, PhD, Cole Eye Institute/Cleveland Clinic, right, with Lyndsey Hannah, office of Cong. Shontel Brown (D-OH)
Neisha Rodriguez Ruiz, OD, PhD, Inter-American University of Puerto Rico	From left: NAEVR Executive Director Dan Ignaszewski, Nikita Varman, office of Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) and Shaohua Pi, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Cammi Valdez, PhD, Northeastern State University, with Christian Gentile, office of Cong. Josh Brecheen (R-OK)	Deepayan Kar, PhD, center, and Holly Chen, PhD, both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with Nelson Park, office of Cong. Gary Palmer (R-AL)