Local Resident Chosen for Fellowship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:

Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate

Laura Schwartz

800-301-2020 ext. 112

                                         Local Resident Chosen for Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate Vision Fellowship

 

Columbus, OH (Aug. 23 2017)  – Prevent Blindness is proud to announce that a Fellowship grant has been awarded to Emily Plyler from Guys Mills, PA.  Emily is a student at Kent State University and is conducting her research at Northeast Ohio Medical University.  She is studying the mechanistic similarities between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and degenerative disorders of the primary visual system such as glaucoma.  This research will focus on investigating the impact of amyloid-beta, a neurotoxic protein originally thought to only be relevant to memory or cognitive issues in AD, on the visual system. This protein has been detected in eye tissues of patients with glaucoma and AD, as well as in animal models of AD, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

The incidence of vision impairment and vision loss increases as the population ages and given the growth of the aging population, the number of people with impaired vision, including blindness, could sky-rocket. To curb this growth, preventive steps must be taken including increased vision research, access to care, and education.

“The growth of vision loss and the overall impact of vision problems on individuals, their families and our society inspired the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness to establish the Young Investigator Student Fellowship Award for Female Scholars in Vision Research, said Sherry Williams, President & CEO of Prevent Blindness.  “Our goal is to encourage female scientists at the beginning of their careers to pursue vision research that can contribute toward the early detection and treatment discoveries that will be needed to curb the growth of vision loss,” Williams continued.

About Prevent Blindness 

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness is Ohio’s leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We serve all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to more than 800,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. For more information or to make a contribution, call 800-301-2020.  Or, visit us on the web at www.pbohio.org or facebook.com/pbohio.