news & updates

Recent Developments in Human Angle Closure Glaucoma
Speaker: Tin Aung, MBBS (Singapore), FRCS(Ed), FRCOphth (UK), MMed (Ophth) (Singapore), FAM (Singapore), PhD (London)

Wednesday, December 8th, 8 pm ET
* This webinar will be recorded and available to registered attendees for two weeks following the live event.*

Professor Tin Aung is a world-leading expert in human PACG. In this webinar, he will review recent advancements in human angle closure glaucoma, including insights from imaging, genetics and clinical management. The program will be moderated by Dr. Andras Komaromy.

Register Today!

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Professor Tin Aung is currently Deputy Medical Director, Singapore National Eye Centre; Academic Vice Chair (Research), Eye Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School; 'Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple' Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore; Senior Consultant, Glaucoma Department, Singapore National Eye Centre and Executive Director, Singapore Eye Research Institute.  For additional details about Professor Aung, click here

The VAF is pleased to announce that the 2021 Founders Clinical Research Grant, in the amount of $9,098, has been awarded to Dr. Ken Abrams and team for their submission, titled '*Olfaction Evaluation in Dogs with Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS); (Sniffin' out SARDS!)*'.

Thank you to Dr. Andrew Lewin, Founders Clinical Research Grant Review Committee Chair, and Committee Members (Drs. Mike Brown, Cynthia Cook, Amanda Joslin, Brad Nadelstein and Dan Ward) for the time and energy that they dedicated to this project.

The VAF is thrilled to announce the following 2020 Resident Grant award recipients:

Dr. Sarah Adelman, University of California- Davis
$5,000
Role of the corneal epithelial transmembrane mucin MUC4 in tear film stability and wound healing

Dr. Megan Cullen, Kansas State University
$5,000
Evaluation of the analgesic effects of liposomal bupivacaine (Nocita®) in client-owned dogs following enucleation

Dr. Kourtney Dowler, University of Missouri
$5,000
Commercially available intraocular lenses commonly used in canine cataract surgery: a microbiota investigation

Dr. Katelin Quantz, Michigan State University
$5,000
Safety and efficacy of goniotomy in dogs with open-angle glaucoma (OAG)

Dr. Tara Stonex, North Carolina State University
$5,000
Does ciliary body ablation control chronic glaucoma pain?

Thank you to Grants Committee Chairs, Drs. Rachel Allbaugh and Georgina Newbold, and committee members, Drs. Heather Chandler, Andrew Lewin, Keiko Miyadera, Gina Newbold, Erin Scott, Gillian Shaw, Sara Thomasy, Kyle Tofflemire and Tomo Wiggan, for your time and energy!

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2020 Large Grant program:

Defining the Pathophysiology of Hypercoagulability in Canine Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome
Dr. Freya Mowat
University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
$30, 227

Investigation into the Genetics of Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Multiple Ocular Coloboma
Dr. Tim Georoff
Philadelphia Zoo
$29,150

This year, the VAF has awarded a record amount – more than $81,000 – of grant funding to residents and diplomates for important research efforts.

A white paper, authored by invited participants in the ACVO Vision for Animal Foundation (VAF)'s Canine Glaucoma Think Tank (November 2017) and Canine Glaucoma Consortium*, has been published in Veterinary Ophthalmology.  The article, " The future of canine glaucoma therapy ", is published Open Access thanks to funding provided by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and the Veterinary Ophthalmology journal.

*Authors: András M. Komáromy, Dineli Bras, Douglas W. Esson, Ronald L. Fellman, Sinisa D. Grozdanic, Larry Kagemann, Paul E. Miller, Sayoko E. Moroi, Caryn E. Plummer, John S. Sapienza, Eric S. Storey, Leandro B. Texeira, Carol B. Toris, Terah R. Webb.

The Purple Rain Party on September 28th in Minneapolis raised a record $55,751 to benefit the ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF)'s grant making programs.  The VAF thanks all who joined in the '80's style fun at the Walker Art Center and those who contributed items to the live and silent auction.

The VAF is grateful for the support of the following sponsors:

Hero ($5,000): Eye Care for Animals, Stokes Pharmacy, VCA Canada and VCA

Best Friend ($2,500): Animal Eye Guys, Dr. Dan Lorimer and Taylors Pharmacy

Companion ($1,000):  An-Vision, BluePearl Specialty & Emergency Pet Hospitals, Diamondback Drugs, I-Med, Iridex, MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, Ocu Glo Vision Supplement, OcuScience, Sontec Instruments, Spot On Specialties and Veterinary Eye Care/Dr. Susan Nelms

The organization also thanks Dr. Terah Webb for serving as the announcer for the "Heads or Tails" raffle game, sponsored by Dan Scott & Associates, and Dr. Bill Miller for his service as the auctioneer.

The Purple Rain Party was organized by the fantastic VAF Auction Committee: Dr. Rachel Keller Vaughan (Chair) and Drs. Heather Kaese, Claire Latimer, Danielle Paglia, Caryn Plummer and Susan Nelms.

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is proud to announce that our 2017 Canine Glaucoma grant, in the amount of $29,974, has been awarded to Dr. Hans Westermeyer, North Carolina State University, for his proposal, "Predicting the onset of intraocular pressure rises and retinal damage in primary angle closure glaucoma in dogs". This two-year study will begin next week.

On Saturday, November 5th the VAF hosted a Think Tank focused on "Surgical Techniques for the Treatment of Canine Glaucoma". The results of this meeting will be published in a White Paper and recommendations will be used to prepare an RFP to fund research on this topic. Thank you to VAF Board member Dr. András M. Komáromy for organizing this event.

Participants were:
Dr. Dineli Bras, Centro de Especialistas Veterinarios de Puerto Rico, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Dr. Douglas Esson, Eye Care for Animals, Tustin, CA
Dr. Ronald Fellman, Glaucoma Associates of Texas, Dallas, TX
Dr. Larry Kagemann, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. András M. Komáromy,Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Dr. Sakoyo Moroi, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. John Sapienza, Long Island Veterinary Specialists, Plainview, NY
Dr. Eric Storey, South Atlanta Animal Eye Clinic, Fayetteville, GA
Dr. Leandro Teixeira, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Dr. Carol Toris, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Dr. Terah Webb, MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, Columbus, OH

2016_think_tank_photo

The ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is pleased to announce that Dr. Freya Mowat of North Carolina State University has been selected as the recipient of the organization's grant award for research to address Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration (SARDS).

The title of the proposal is "Defining the effect of immune-mediated damage to the pineal gland in the etiopathogenesis of sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) in dogs".  It is a two-year project, with funding to be awarded in the amount of $29,948.

Co-investigators are: Drs. Katherine Lunn, Natasha Olby, and Gianluca Tosini.