Deadlines

Applications must be completed and submitted by the following deadlines:

• Applications for the FFS/NANOS award are due September 15th
• Applications for the Post-Doctoral and Grants-in-Aid award are due November 15th
• Applications for the FFS-Lirot award are due December 31st
• Applications for the Summer Student award are due February 15th
• All applications must be completed and submitted online by midnight Eastern Time.
• You may begin your online application on our Grant Applications page.
• All material submitted becomes the property of FFS. Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Selection Process

All applications are reviewed by the FFS Scientific Review Committee (SRC). These volunteers, many of whom are alumni or mentors themselves, include more than 90 researchers and clinicians with a broad range of expertise in academic ophthalmology, eye and vision research.

Each applicant is asked to choose one of three sub-specialty sections for their research project to ensure that the best qualified individuals review each unique application. These three sections consist of Anterior Segment, Posterior Segment and Visual & Motor Pathways.

Each proposal is assigned at least two primary reviewers within the assigned section. The quality of all applications is ranked according to four criteria:

1. the proposal and its scientific merit,
2. the clinical relevance of the project,
3. the applicant and his/her letters of support and
4. Facilities and resources.

All Post-Doctoral Awards, Grants-in-Aid, and Summer Student Fellowships are further reviewed and discussed openly within each section via conference call during March-April. At the conclusion of the review sessions, a complete ranking and ordering of applications is prepared and forwarded to FFS for review. Summer Student Fellowships are ranked according to reviewers’ scores prior to the ARVO annual meeting.

NANOS proposals are reviewed during October.

Final awards determination is made by the FFS Board of Directors based on the recommendations of the SRC.

Application Details

Applications are available online at:https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ffs2023.

Special Awards

In addition to our general grant categories, FFS is proud to announce fourteen special awards. These include:

• A Grant-in-Aid partnership with the International Retinal Research Foundation supports two annual grants
• A partnership with Prevent Blindness to fund the Joanne Angle Public Health Award, a grant used for a public health related project relating to vision.
• A partnership with the Choroideremia Research Foundation funds an annual Post-Doctoral Award, Grant-in-Aid and Summer Student Fellowship.
• A Summer Student Fellowship to examine gender based disparities in eye disease, treatment or diagnosis in partnership with WomensEyeHealth.org.
• A Summer Student Fellowship in partnership with the Streilein Foundation for Ocular Immunology.
• A partnership with the Eye Bank for Sight Restoration to co-fund a Summer Student Fellowship related to corneal preservation with preference given to applicants from the Northeast U.S.
• The Basil V. Worgul Lens Research Summer Student Fellowship in memory of Professor Basil V. Worgul
• A Summer Student Fellowship co-sponsored by Lions Eye Institute concerning the preservation and transportation of eye tissue for transplantation.
• A Summer Student Fellowship in partnership with Aniridia Foundation International
• Two Summer Student Fellowships are funded in partnership with the American Macular Degeneration Foundation.
• In addition, other donor funded partnerships may be available from year to year as a result of FFS’s fundraising activities.
• A research fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology for residents or fellows in neurology or ophthalmology in partnership with NANOS, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. The Fight for Sight-NANOS Research Award will include a $3,000 research stipend from FFS, accompanied by a $1,500 travel grant from NANOS, for the grant recipient to present a research paper based on the funded work at the NANOS annual meeting (travel grant contingent upon presentation as either a platform or poster presentation). The terms, guidelines and funding mechanisms of FFS’s present grant structure will be applied.

Individuals specifically applying for any of these awards should include a cover letter in the Supplemental Materials section of their application indicating that they wish their research project to be considered for these specific funds. A special proposal form is available for the NANOS award. FFS is grateful to our partner organizations and generous donors for their support of these special awards.

Summer Student Fellowship

Completed Summer Student Fellowship applications should include:

• Application face pages and related information; completed online and including information about the applicant, his/her education and training, institution and sponsor.
• The Research Proposal. The entire proposal, not including references, should not exceed four single-spaced pages.
• Letter of Support from sponsor. This letter should include an evaluation of the student, the role of the mentor in advising the applicant during the project, the training plan, any extracurricular training the student will receive and other information helpful to the committee in evaluating the mentor, the laboratory and the institutional resources in support of a FFS Summer Student Fellowship.
• Resume of Applicant
• CV and NIH-style Biosketch of Sponsor.
• Supplemental Information, including relevant awards, previous research experience and academic or career goals.
• A cover letter if applying for a co-funded Summer Student Fellowship.

Post-Doctoral Award

Completed Post-Doctoral Award applications should include:

• Application face pages and related information; completed online and including information about the applicant, his/her education and training, institution and sponsor.
• The Research Proposal. The entire proposal, not including references, should not exceed eight single-spaced pages.
• Letter of Support from sponsor, departmental chair and a third reference. These letters should include an evaluation of the student, the role of the mentor in advising the applicant during the project, the training plan, any extracurricular training the student will receive and other information helpful to the committee in evaluating the mentor, the laboratory and the institutional resources in support of a FFS Postdoctoral Award. They should specifically address the suitability of the applicant’s training, his/her academic achievements and, most importantly, his/her potential to develop into an independent eye and vision researcher and/or leader in academic ophthalmology.
• CV and NIH-style Biosketch of Applicant AND Sponsor.
• Supplemental Information, including relevant awards, previous research experience and academic or career goals.
• A cover letter if applying for a co-funded Post-Doctoral Award.

Grant-in-Aid

Completed Grant-In-Aid applications should include:

• Application face pages and related information; completed online and including information about the applicant, his/her education and training, institution and sponsor.
• The Research Proposal. The entire proposal, not including references, should not exceed eight single-spaced pages.
• Letter of Support from Departmental chair and one other individual. These letters should include an evaluation of the junior faculty member and should specifically address the candidate’s academic achievements and potential to develop into an independent eye and vision researcher and/or leader in academic ophthalmology. Such letters may also include departmental or extracurricular activities relevant to the applicant’s continued career development as well as any other information helpful to the committee in evaluating the applicant, the research, the department and the institutional resources in support of this award.
• CV and NIH-style Biosketch of Applicant.
• Supplemental Information, including relevant awards, previous research experience and academic or career goals.
• A cover letter if applying for a co-funded Grant-in-Aid.