Our Commitment

Every population is impacted by Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, and glaucoma, and they are not impacted equally.  

Health equity starts in the lab, and disparities are a public health problem that must be solved to better prevent, treat, and cure mind and sight diseases. 

Central to the vision and mission of BrightFocus Foundation is a drive to fund the most promising scientific research so that we can live a longer and more rewarding life without battling the diseases we all fear the most. 

For nearly 50 years, BrightFocus has shaped early-career scientists and advanced the field through travel fellowships for scientists from more than 20 countries, global expert-led educational programming, and efforts to improve equity in health research. 

BrightFocus is dedicated to reaching millions of people worldwide through public outreach and education efforts around brain and eye health, including BrightFocus Chats, free, twice-a-month audio programs connecting individuals with vision diseases to doctors and researchers; virtual community groups; virtual Alzheimer’s Q & A programming with experts; public service announcements; awareness outreach campaigns; and special events. 

In 2021, BrightFocus launched Brain Info Live, a series of free, multilingual online and hybrid educational programs targeted to a range of communities across the U.S. to help raise awareness about brain health and to educate communities about opportunities to participate in research trials. BrightFocus works with local community leaders and partners to tailor the information and resources in these programs to best serve every audience.

BrightFocus is committed to: 

• Funding the most promising and innovative research that approaches the diseases from a diverse range of angles to have the best chance of defeating them for good.  

• Growing community to better reflect and support every person who is impacted by mind and sight diseases.  

• Supporting and educating scientists from all backgrounds to foster creativity and innovation in addressing complex scientific challenges. We strongly encourage applications from individuals who are from groups underrepresented in the field to apply for our grants. Nearly 45% of our funded researchers across 25 countries are women and from a non-white racial background.

• Reflecting the broad community we serve by hiring with a mindset of inclusivity. We believe that diverse perspectives and representation amongst our staff and leadership are essential to better understanding and serving all people.

• Increasing awareness across every community about mind and sight diseases, with an emphasis on under-resourced communities where there is a significant distrust in health care professionals and a lack of understanding about the diseases and the importance of taking them more seriously.

• Growing our strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion partnerships to better educate and engage with underserved communities in a meaningful way that provides value to these communities. We believe that change starts from within, and that success occurs when community ambassadors serve as agents of change over time by building relationships and trust.

• Listening to and making changes in our initiatives to better reflect the voices of the people we serve.

• Ensuring our informational programs and materials meet the highest ADA standards for accessibility and low vision possible.

• Increasing our free multilingual resources.