BrightFocus Announces $13.3 Million in New Research for Alzheimer’s and Vision Diseases

Record Level of Investment for Foundation

Clarksburg, MD—BrightFocus Foundation today announced a record $13.3 million in new grants for promising science toward finding cures for Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

“At a time of proposed cuts in federal research, it is more important than ever for private foundations like BrightFocus to support the science that can defeat these diseases,” said BrightFocus President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller.

“With the graying of the Baby Boomers, we must change the trajectory of age-related diseases,” Haller said, noting that for the first time in history people age 65 and older will soon outnumber those age five and younger.

The grants, the largest ever for the Foundation, were approved by its Board of Directors after thorough review by panels of leading scientists.  With these latest awards, BrightFocus will have invested in more than $176 million in research since its inception, with more than $45 million in the last four years alone.

BrightFocus supports promising ideas in science, helping spark new discoveries.  Researchers who have received funding from BrightFocus have won two Nobel Prizes, as well as other prestigious recognitions such as the MetLife, Helen Keller Prize, and American Academy of Neurology awards.

BrightFocus, a Maryland nonprofit which receives no government funding, currently manages a portfolio of nearly 160 research projects around the globe. “The generosity of our donors makes it possible for us to support such innovative and groundbreaking science,” Haller said.

The names of this year’s grant recipients will be announced this summer, after completion of final agreements with researchers and supporting institutions.

To learn more about BrightFocus, and to find resources for families impacted by Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, and glaucoma, visit BrightFocus.org