Fighting Blindness Career Development Awards 2024: Awardee Announcement!

Supporting the next generation of vision researchers is a key focus for Fighting Blindness. We recognise the importance of training, networking, and building collaborations in advancing the careers of early-stage researchers and clinicians.

Since 2022, Fighting Blindness has proudly offered Career Development Awards to support PhD students, early-career postdoctoral researchers, and clinicians working in the field of vision loss. These awards provide funding to help recipients advance their careers through:

• Attending official training courses
• Learning new scientific techniques in other laboratories
• Presenting research findings at national or international conferences and workshops
• Participating in national and international networking and collaboration events

A unique aspect of this funding programme is its strong emphasis on Public and Patient Involvement (PPI). The Fighting Blindness PPI Review Panel, composed of individuals living with sight loss, plays an active role in evaluating and selecting successful applications. This ensures that the research funded aligns with the needs and priorities of those directly affected by vision loss.

The PPI Review Panel is made up of members from the Fighting Blindness Visually Impaired Person’s (V.I.P.) Network. To learn more about the V.I.P. Network, click here.

Through these awards, Fighting Blindness is dedicated to fostering the development of emerging talent and advancing impactful vision research.

We are delighted to announce that the awardees for our third round of career development awards are:

• Dr Laura Cushley – Post-Doctoral Researcher at Queens University Belfast (QUB)

Dr Laura Cushley is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast. She obtained her PhD in 2023, which focused on people with visual impairment navigate towns and cities. Her broader research interests include living with visual impairment, inherited retinal diseases, retinal image grading, and diabetic eye disease. Some current aspects of her research include investigating the use of autofluorescence imaging in diabetic eye disease and learning more about the role of genetics in eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

• Dr Sarah Palko – Post-Doctoral Researcher at Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
  

Dr Sarah Palko is a post-doctoral researcher at Trinity College studying neovascular Age Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD). Her group are investigating the effects of a new drug, faricimab, which uses combination therapy to target two important proteins necessary for the blood vessel growth seen in nAMD, VEGF and Ang2. The goal in the field is to use faricimab to improve patient response, reduce treatment frequency, and target subretinal fibrosis, a long-term outcome for many nAMD patients. Their project is specifically investigating the mechanism by which faricimab reduces collagen deposition and scar formation in mouse models of nAMD.

• Dorsa Golestaneh – PhD Student at South East Technological University (SETU)
  

Dorsa Golestaneh is a PhD candidate in the Ocular Therapeutics Research Group at South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford. Her prior experiences in nanotechnology-based drug delivery, combined with her experience as a community pharmacist, position her to develop innovative nano-formulations for ocular diseases through patient and public involvement (PPI) in her PhD research project. This interdisciplinary research project combines comprehensive literature reviews and longitudinal patient interviews to understand the experiences and treatment challenges faced by Dry Eye Disease (DED) patients. The aim of this project is to develop patient-centred, preclinical-stage nano-formulations that can address the real treatment needs of patients and care providers, ultimately improving the quality of life for those affected by DED.

Congratulations to Laura, Sarah and Dorsa! We look forward to hearing how these awards support their professional development and enhance their important research for the benefit of patients.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the latest round of Career development Awards. For more information on the awards and Fighting Blindness-funded research, please contact us at research@fightingblindness.ie.