August 24, 2016
The Gund-Harrington National Initiative for Fighting Blindness is pleased to announce the third annual Gund-Harrington Scholar Award competition to support innovative research efforts that could prevent, treat or cure blindness with funding up to $900,000.
The Gund-Harrington Initiative is the result of a collaboration between Foundation Fighting Blindness, founded in 1971 by Gordon and Llura Gund to find treatments for blinding eye diseases and is now the world’s leading private source for inherited retinal degenerative research funding, and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development - a nonprofit institute dedicated to enabling scientists to transform their discoveries into therapies that enhance patient care. Both organizations understand the hurdles associated with turning discoveries into medicines, and are eager to combine efforts and resources to accelerate drug development for critical causes of blindness.
The competition is open to scientists at accredited academic medical centers, research institutions and universities in the United States and Canada. The Gund-Harrington Scholar Award provides funding and drug development support by pharmaceutical industry experts to selected awardees to help bridge the gap between basic discovery and clinical introduction. Of particular interest is the targeting of pathways and processes that might affect retinal dystrophies and vision with the ultimate goal of advancing translation of research into drugs and cell therapies. Up to 5 awards will be made in 2017.
Applicants must have a MD and/or PhD (or equivalent) and demonstrate exceptional promise. Multi-disciplinary investigators outside the field of retinal disease are particularly encouraged to apply.
Applicants have the opportunity to receive:
- Funding totaling up to $900,000 over three years based on progress made towards milestones
- Committed drug development and project management support for the duration of the 3 year term
Important Deadlines
Letter of Intent: October 14, 2016
Full Application (for those invited): January 26, 2017
For more information about the Gund-Harrington Award application requirements, as well as prior winners, please visit:
Blindness.org/apply-for-funding or HarringtonDiscovery.org/Gund
If you have any questions, please contact either:
Dr. Amy Laster, Foundation Fighting Blindness Director Grants and Awards, at 410-423-0583 or ALaster@fightblindness.org or Natalie A. Haynes, Harrington Discovery Institute Program Director, at 216-368-1038 or Natalie.Haynes@HarringtonDiscovery.org
Sincerely,
Brian Mansfield, PhD Mukesh K. Jain, MD
Deputy Research Officer Chief Scientific Officer
Foundation Fighting Blindness Harrington Discovery Institute