The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine has been renewed for an Unrestricted Grant by Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). This prestigious grant—totaling $115,000 annually—places Penn’s ophthalmology department among a select group of institutions. RPB Unrestricted Grant funding has been awarded following the Scientific Advisory Panel’s positive evaluation of our research output, laboratory environs, and clinical and scientific staff.
Bennie Jeng, MD, MS, Chair of the Department, highlights the importance of this flexible funding, explaining, “[h]aving this unrestricted funding for our research program allows us to augment resources that faculty need for their research, helping faculty who have new ideas that are not currently funded get off the ground, [and] purchasing new equipment that helps advance our research." Dr. Jeng’s words illustrate the grant’s role as a critical support to the Department’s groundbreaking research. According to Research to Prevent Blindness, the Unrestricted Grant is meant to “provide maximum flexibility in developing and expanding eye research programs, and opportunities for creative planning that go beyond the scope of restricted project grants.”
The nature of this funding empowers us to strategically allocate resources where they are most needed—whether to seed new pilot research projects, support underfunded high-potential studies, or purchase state-of-the-art equipment. Dr. Jeng also attests to the grant’s role in fostering a thriving academic environment, stating, "This grant helps us to create an atmosphere where innovation is nurtured and sustained." Indeed, Dr. Jeng shares that we are not solely looking to understand retinal and optic nerve degeneration, but—innovating even further—“[evaluating] ways to invoke regeneration from a cellular level for [both] the retina and optic nerve." Such advanced research directions position the Department of Ophthalmology to lead—in research, creativity, and the discovery of novel therapies that can revolutionize science.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine holds one of only 29 RPB Unrestricted Grants nationwide.
by Maressa Park