For the Media

For information about RPB, our Grants Program, research we have supported, or for comments or quotes from eye researchers on issues pertaining to eye disease, contact:

Diana Friedman 
Director of External Affairs
Research to Prevent Blindness
212.752.4333
800.621.0026
dfriedman@rpbusa.org

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Who We Are & What We Do: 

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is the leading nonprofit organization supporting eye research directed at the prevention, treatment or eradication of all diseases that threaten vision. 

Since its founding in 1960 by Dr. Jules Stein, RPB's impact on vision research and vision care has been enormous. It coordinated the effort that led Congress in 1968 to establish the National Eye Institute within the National Institutes of Health. And since its founding, RPB has been identified with virtually every major scientific advance in eye research. When patients go to an eye care specialist for an exam or treatment, RPB's research dollars are almost invariably connected to the tools and knowledge applied to diagnose and treat the condition.

RPB has achieved this impact through far-reaching activities that foster the growth and development of the U.S. vision research community, including:

• channeling more than $418 million into eye research -- stimulating important new scientific investigations, accelerating the pace of research, and producing unprecedented progress in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of eye diseases;
• approving and funding 4,661 grants since its inception in 1960;
• attracting talented scientists to careers in eye research and supporting them throughout those careers with flexible funding that allows the nimble pursuit of new discoveries;
• convening eye research funders from across the country to explore efficiencies and collaborations in the fight against vision loss; and
• providing funding for medical institutions throughout the U.S. to create strong departments of ophthalmology.

Financial support for the organization comes from individual donors, foundations and from RPB's endowment. RPB also partners with vision research-supporting organizations to leverage its resources.