Research Award Types
Download a PDF of our Research Awards Program brochure.
Summer Student Fellowships
Summer Student Fellowships are available to undergraduates, graduate and medical students who are interested in pursuing eye-related clinical or basic research. For most students, this is their first exposure to eye or vision research and the experience has resulted in many students choosing academic ophthalmology or eye research as a full-time career. Unrestricted awards of $2,100 are given for two to three months of full-time research, usually during June-August. Students receiving stipends from other sources are generally not eligible.
Post-Doctoral Awards
Post-Doctoral Awards support individuals with a doctorate (Ph.D., M.D., O.D., Dr.PH, or D.V.M.) who are interested in academic careers in basic or clinical research in ophthalmology, vision or related sciences. This funding is intended to offer those interested in an academic career the opportunity to spend a year engaged in vision and eye research under the supervision of a senior scientist/clinician mentor. Clinical post-doctoral researchers are required to spend sufficient time on the funded research project to carry out the proposed objectives while basic researchers are expected to work full-time. One year grants of $20,000 are awarded for start dates between July 1 and September 1. Recipients may supplement their awards with institutional or other funds however any anticipated supplemental support must be disclosed at the time of application. Total combined salary support must not exceed the annual stipend level set by the NIH for National Research Service Award recipients. Fringe benefits are not provided by Fight for Sight. Applications are considered from individuals who are within three years of their doctoral degrees or clinical residency training and have not received a previous Fight for Sight fellowship award.
If at the time of application a doctorate has not yet been obtained, a cover letter must be submitted by the conferring institution advising when such degree is expected to be awarded. Fight for Sight reserves the right to withdraw the award should unanticipated delays occur.
Grants-in-Aid
Grants-in-Aid are intended to fund pilot projects and generate preliminary results for investigators who have limited or no other research funding. Grants-in-Aid are awarded to junior faculty members who are developing their independent scientific skills. A majority of Grants-in-Aid recipients go on to successfully compete for larger, multi-year awards from the NIH or other governmental and private sources utilizing data generated by Fight for Sight funded projects.
Support may be used to defray costs of personnel (but not the applicant), equipment and consumable supplies needed for the specific research project. Travel costs are generally not supported. One year awards of $20,000 are provided and may start between July 1 and September 1.
Applications will only be considered from researchers who have received their first faculty or research appointment in eye/vision within the previous three years. Fringe benefits are not included and institutional overhead charges are not covered.
Special Awards
Within the framework of our three types of grants, we also seek applicants for more specialized and/or named awards. Fight for Sight has partnerships with several organizations to do so.
For example, in partnership with NANOS, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, we offer a joint Fight for Sight-NANOS Summer Fellowship for neurology or ophthalmology residents or fellows pursuing academic research in neuro-ophthalmology that includes a travel award to present research findings at the annual meeting of NANOS each spring.
Teaming up with WomensEyeHealth.org, we have created a Summer Student Fellowship entitled "Understanding Gender Disparities in Eye Health," for the study of gender-based disparities in vision health, treatment, and/or eye disease prevention with respect to public health, biology, or epidemiology.
We also offer a Summer Student Fellowship focusing on ocular immunology with the Streilein Foundation for Ocular Immunology, and another for cornea study by an applicant from the Northeast U.S., with The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration.
Fight for Sight awards the Basil V. Worgul Lens Research Summer Student Fellowship to honor the memory of Professor Basil V. Worgul, who was internationally recognized for his work in radiation cataract.
On occasion, a specific award is named in honor or memory of an individual donor. For example, Fight for Sight recently funded a Grant-In-Aid specifically for work in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa in response to a large donation from a concerned family. We are actively interested in and willing to work with other research foundations to find areas of common interest and opportunities for partnership to advance our common goals of funding eye and vision research.