ARVO Foundation Announces 2019 Mallinckrodt Uveitis Research Fellowship Recipient
Award supports research on uveitis and inflammatory conditions
Rockville, Md. – The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) today announced the inaugural recipient of the Mallinckrodt Uveitis Research Fellowship, generously funded by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. The award, funded through the ARVO Foundation, supports an early career investigator with a one-year grant of $45,000 to study an aspect of uveitis or other inflammatory conditions of the eye. The 2019 awardee is Steven Yeh, MD, of the Emory University School of Medicine.
“We are grateful for Mallinckrodt’s generous support in funding this fellowship,” said ARVO Foundation Board of Governors Chair Paul Sternberg, Jr., MD, FARVO. “This new program allows promising young researchers to explore novel ideas related to understanding the mechanisms and treatments of uveitis. We are pleased to recognize Dr. Yeh’s work to further our understanding of how our eyes respond to viral infections.”
Yeh’s research project will evaluate the herpes virus, an infectious agent that can damage the retina and threaten sight. This project will help to better understand the role of direct viral infection of the retina, as well as the body's response to infection, both of which may lead to sight-threatening consequences. Through an improved understanding of this severe eye infection, scientists and researchers will be able to better identify treatments to prevent vision loss and improve vision in patients who develop herpes virus infections of the eye.
“Our uveitis research program at the Emory Eye Center aims to understand infectious eye disease and the immune mechanisms that lead to vision-threatening complications,” said Yeh. “We have studied the Ebola virus disease and herpes virus, which both have global and public health impact. In addition, these infections have common characteristics of lytic viral infection and severe immune consequences. This research award will allow us to better understand herpetic retinitis, or acute retinal necrosis, specifically the mechanisms of viral infection, damage and antigen-specific immunity.”
The intent of the award is to provide investigators who are early in their careers with an opportunity to generate preliminary results that, if promising, may be leveraged to earn additional, longer-term funding support. The grant is also intended to catalyze the authorship of impactful publications and the stimulation of further insights and advances in the ocular inflammation space.
“We are honored to support the ARVO Foundation with this research fellowship, and pleased that the inaugural award will fund Dr. Yeh’s research on herpetic retinitis and the broader categories of viral infection and the potentially damaging immune responses it may trigger,” said Tunde Otulana, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Mallinckrodt. “We look forward to seeing the results of this promising and important work.”
Applications for the fellowship will be open from July 1, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2020.
For more information about the Mallinckrodt Uveitis Research Fellowship, visit ARVO’s website.
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About ARVO: The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include nearly 12,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders. Learn more at ARVO.org.
About the ARVO Foundation: Established in 2001, the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research raises funds through partnerships, grants and sponsorships to support ARVO’s world-class education and career development resources for eye and vision researchers of all stages of career and education. Learn more at ARVOFoundation.org.
About Mallinckrodt: Mallinckrodt is a global business consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. The company's Specialty Brands reportable segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics and gastrointestinal products. Its Specialty Generics reportable segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.
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Media Contact:
Julene Joy
+1.240.221.2929
jjoy@arvo.org