News — December 26, New York -- Beginning in 2021, The Glaucoma Foundation (TGF) and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) partnered to provide fellowships to increase diversity in glaucoma research.
The TGF (sponsored by Patricia Hill) / RPB Fellowships in Glaucoma provide one-year, $10,000 supplemental fellowships targeted to under-represented racial and ethnic minorities, as defined by the NIH, who are fellows in departments of ophthalmology engaged in substantive glaucoma research.
Two new awardees, both ophthalmic epidemiologists, were selected in December. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution patterns and determinants of diseases in a defined population.
Patrice Marie Hicks, PhD., MPH
Dr. Hicks is an ophthalmic epidemiologist in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. The long-term goal of her research is to develop an independent and interdisciplinary research program to understand how social determinants of health affect vision outcomes, ultimately informing policy and intervention. Her research portfolio includes several studies on glaucoma. She is currently focused on identifying facilitators and barriers to glaucoma medication adherence. One of her ongoing studies is evaluating the inclusion and accuracy of sex and gender, as well as race and ethnicity, in artificial intelligence applications in ophthalmology.
Bushra Usmani, MD
The research focus of Dr. Usmani, a member of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is on exploring the epidemiology of ophthalmic diseases. Her particular interest involves exploring preventable blinding or high morbidity ophthalmic conditions. Her approach is to identify the disease, explore the epidemiology, identify risk factors, costs and resources utilized for care, and disparities in the affected populations over a 10-year period to identify trends. The goal has been to identify ways to protect and prevent these preventable causes of blindness.
About The Glaucoma Foundation
The Glaucoma Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people with glaucoma. Since 1984, The Foundation has worked to encourage and support basic and applied research in glaucoma, to gain and disseminate new information about its causes and treatment, and to further identify and develop novel approaches to preserve visual function and reverse blindness. Through education and outreach, we strive to be a valuable resource to help patients, their families, and at-risk individuals to manage their disease and its repercussions.
RSS