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Research Award

Dr. David L. Epstein Award

  • Application Opens: August 1, 2026
  • Application Closes: October 1, 2026
  • Eligible Members
    • Regular Member
    • Life Member
  • Research Specialty
    • Glaucoma
    • Research
  • Career Stage
    • Mid Career
    • Late Career

Award Description

This award honors David L. Epstein, MD, who is considered to be one of the most influential leaders in the world of glaucoma and glaucoma research over the past 40 years. The award was created by Dr. Epstein’s family to perpetuate and honor his commitment to the scientific understanding and cure of glaucoma through the support of promising clinician-scientists in exceptional research environments. It is the intent of the donors that this award further Dr. Epstein's long-standing determination and interest in solving the complex issues of glaucoma through well-conceived and executed scientific research focused on finding the causes and new treatments for the disease.

The $100,000 award, which is supported through the ARVO Foundation, was first presented in 2016.

Award Namesake

This award honors David L. Epstein, MD, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential leaders in glaucoma and glaucoma research over the past 40 years. The award was created by his family to perpetuate and honor his commitment to the scientific understanding and cure of glaucoma through the support of promising clinician-scientists in exceptional research environments.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include ARVO members who are well-established, senior-level investigators with documented history of conducting eye and vision research in glaucoma and who have a record of successfully mentoring clinician-scientists to independent academic and research careers. The award will fund a research project that supports the applicant’s mentee in the applicant’s lab.

Specific eligibility criteria include:

  • Applicant must be the PI of an active research program and have a history of obtaining at least two NIH grants in the U or R series (or two grant equivalents if the applicant is from outside the United States), at least one of which is current.
  • Applicant must have a record of accomplishment in successfully mentoring clinician-scientists to independent academic and research careers.
  • Applicant must agree at time of application that Epstein Award funds will be used specifically to support a clinician-scientist, within five years of completion of formal training, in the awardee’s laboratory or area of research to further research for:
    • a period of two years at a minimum of 30% effort per year. If funds remain at the end of two years, the principal investigator may apply for a no cost extension; Or
    • one year at a minimum of 75% effort. If funds remain at the end of a year, the principal investigator may apply for a no cost extension.
  • The applicant’s mentee must be committed to becoming a clinician-scientist; the mentee must have an MD or OD degree (or equivalent)
  • Applicant must be an employee of a tax-exempt academic institution, and said institution must be willing to receive and disburse the award monies under the guidelines of ARVO. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure his/her institution can and will accept the award monies for the sole purpose set out in this award, as specified in the criteria, including that the institution agrees not to apply or withhold administrative fees or indirect costs.
  • Must follow ARVO described processes for application, including established deadlines.
  • There are no geographic (international or domestic) restrictions.
  • There are no age restrictions.
  • ARVO and ARVO Foundation Officers, Board members and ARVO Foundation Awards Committee members are not eligible to apply for or be nominated for an award, nor may they supply letters of support during their terms.

Application information

The online application requires the following information, forms and documents:

Limited to three pages (typed, single-spaced, 10 point or larger font size) describing how your current and past research supports the work of the mentee in conducting the proposed research, including:

  • Highlights of past and current glaucoma research, including five most significant papers
  • Hypothesis, goals and potential impact to the field of glaucoma research

For each mentee, include name, dates of mentorship, research focus and NIH RO1 (or equivalent) funding history, if achieved, publication history, and current work of past mentees

  • Training background
  • Qualifications
  • Career development plans

Application must include a letter stating that the award will go to the institution of the applicant, that the institution will accept the funds for use as described in the award criteria, and that the institution agrees not to apply or withhold administrative fees or indirect costs. The letter must be on university letterhead signed by an authorized representative of the institution.

NIH biosketch form (for both Mentee and applicant)

Review and selection process

Applications will be reviewed by internationally recognized experts on the Epstein Ad Hoc Committee. The final selection will be approved by the ARVO Foundation Board of Governors and the ARVO Board of Trustees. The deliberations of the Epstein Ad Hoc Committee, the ARVO Foundation Board of Governors and the ARVO Board of Trustees are confidential, and their decision is final.

Additional information

  • Unsuccessful applicants may apply for the award again in subsequent years.
  • Past recipients are eligible to apply for the award again after a period of three years. There is no limit to the number of times a recipient may receive the award.
  • The award winner will be expected to present results from his/her research project at the ARVO Annual Meeting two years later (for example, the 2023 winner will present at ARVO 2025).

Timeline

Applications open on Aug. 1

Applications close on Oct. 1

Recipients notified in Dec. 

 

2025 Recipients

2025 Epstein Award Recipient, Susan Quaggin

Mentor: Susan Quaggin, MD, FRCP(C)

Quaggin is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she completed residency and served as chief medical resident. She completed a nephrology fellowship at the University of Toronto and Yale University, where she also completed post-doctoral training. Quaggin’s research focuses on fundamental processes needed to maintain the integrity of specialized vascular beds. Translation of her group’s findings reveals mechanisms and new therapeutic targets for several diseases, including glaucoma, diabetic kidney and eye disease.

Currently she is the Irving S. Cutter Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, where she serves as Chair of the Department of Medicine and Director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute. Quaggin was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2006), the Association of American Physicians (2013), the National Academy of Medicine (2019), the National Academy of Inventors (2021) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) and has received awards from the American Heart Association (Distinguished Scientist Award), the Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande (Grand Prix Scientifique), the International Society of Nephrology (Alfred Newton Richards Award for Basic Research), the Kidney Foundation of Canada (Research Medal), and the American Society of Nephrology (John P. Peters Lifetime Achievement Award). 

Epstein Award Recipient, Naoki Kiyota

Mentee: Naoki Kiyota, MD, PhD

Kiyota began his career as a clinician-scientist after completing his residency at Tohoku University Hospital in Japan. Under the mentorship of Professor Toru Nakazawa, he conducted clinical research focusing on the relationship between ocular blood flow and glaucomatous neurodegeneration. He further pursued basic research on the mechanisms of optic nerve regeneration in mouse models under the guidance of Dr. Takayuki Harada at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, earning his PhD based on this work.

Building on his clinical and research expertise developed in Japan, Kiyota joined Quaggin’s lab at Northwestern University, where he advanced his studies on glaucoma and the vascular biology of Schlemm’s canal. Leveraging his extensive clinical knowledge of glaucoma, expertise in mouse genetics, and skills in bioinformatics, Kiyota is committed to bridging the gap between clinical and basic science, with the ultimate goal of improving care for patients with glaucoma.

View previous award winners

Supported by the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research