School of Medicine receives prestigious grant from Research to Prevent Blindness

The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine has received a prestigious Unrestricted Grant from the nonprofit organization Research to Prevent Blindness. The five-year, $575,000 grant will support eye research conducted by the Department of Ophthalmology. “The future of our department over the next five years looks very bright, and this grant will be instrumental in sustaining and expanding our research tools, as well as provide a funding boost for faculty small pilot research projects,” said Vladimir Kefalov, UCI professor of ophthalmology and physiology & biophysics, and vice chair for research of the Department of Ophthalmology. UCI is one of only 29 institutions nationwide to receive an RPB Unrestricted Grant. The award was based on a thorough review of criteria, including the department’s research activities, laboratory equipment and scientific staff, as evaluated by RPB’s renowned Scientific Advisory Panel.