Glaucoma Research Foundation Announces $3.06 Million in Research Grants

SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2026 – Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) today announced a record total of $3.06 million in annual research grants. These grants will support innovative research aimed at finding cures for glaucoma and neurodegeneration, and furthering research for vision restoration. The funding will be distributed to twenty investigators at leading medical institutions across the United States.

“This year’s historic level of research funding reflects the extraordinary commitment of our donor community, many of whom are patients and families personally affected by glaucoma,” said Thomas Brunner, President and CEO of GRF.

Grant Allocations

GRF is awarding one-year, $55,000 Shaffer Grants to twelve scientists to support research into novel glaucoma treatments. A significant $1 million will be allocated to the Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative, continuing research focused on restoring vision lost to glaucoma. Another $1 million is dedicated to the Melza M. And Frank Theodore Barr Foundation Catalyst for a Cure Initiative to Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration. $400,000 will be directed to GRF’s new Treatment Accelerator Initiative.

Shaffer Research Grant Recipients (2026)

• Kun-Che Chang, PhD
• Shruthi Karnam, PhD
• Kate Keller, PhD
• Naoki Kiyota, MD, PhD
• Gillian McLellan, PhD
• Kiyoharu Miyagishima, PhD
• Kerstin Nundel, PhD
• Shruti Patil, PhD
• Lev Prasov, MD, PhD
• Maria Fernanda Suarez, PhD
• Levi Todd, PhD
• Lauren Wareham, PhD

Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative Principal Investigators

• Xin Duan, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
• Yang Hu, MD, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine
• Anna La Torre, PhD, University of California, Davis
• Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD, Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego

The Catalyst for a Cure Vision Restoration Initiative aims to preserve, repair, and rebuild the optic nerve, addressing damage that has already resulted in vision loss.

Catalyst for a Cure Initiative to Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration Principal Investigators

• Sandro Da Mesquita, PhD, Mayo Clinic
• Milica Margeta, MD, PhD, Mass Eye and Ear
• Karthik Shekhar, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
• Humsa Venkatesh, PhD, Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital

The Catalyst for a Cure Initiative to Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration will explore similarities and differences among glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases, seeking potential preventive measures and cures for all conditions involving neuronal death in the eye, brain, or spinal cord.

Source: Glaucoma Research Foundation