Summer Student Fellowships

Summer Student Fellowships are available to undergraduates, graduate and medical students from the United States and Canada 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. Awards of $2,100 are given for 2-3 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 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 FFS. Applications are considered from individuals who are within three years of their doctoral degrees or clinical residency training and have not received a previous FFS 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. FFS 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 FFS 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 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.

For example, in partnership with NANOS, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, we offer a joint FFS-NANOS Summer Fellowship for 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.

In partnership 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.

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, FFS 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.