PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Jane Patrick, Science Writer
Ophthalmology Department
Boston Children’s Hospital
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 919-6925
Boston, Massachusetts (May 17, 2016) — Massachusetts Grand Officers of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation traveled to Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School to present a $65,000 Career Starter grant to Lucia Ambrosio, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Ophthalmology Department. Dr. Ambrosio will be focusing her research on finding a new treatment for X-linked retinoschisis, a hereditary juvenile macular degeneration that affects males.
Ophthalmology Department
Boston Children’s Hospital
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 919-6925
Boston, Massachusetts (May 17, 2016) — Massachusetts Grand Officers of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation traveled to Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School to present a $65,000 Career Starter grant to Lucia Ambrosio, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Ophthalmology Department. Dr. Ambrosio will be focusing her research on finding a new treatment for X-linked retinoschisis, a hereditary juvenile macular degeneration that affects males.
Pictured left to right: Sir Knight Eugene A. Capobianco, Past Grand Commander of Mass/RI; Sir Knight Andrew C. Maninos, Grand Commander of Mass/RI; David G. Hunter, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, Professor and Vice-Chair; Lucia Ambrosio, MD, PhD (recipient of award); Sir Knight Richard W. Seychew, Past Grand Commander of Mass/RI; Anne B. Fulton, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital Senior Researcher, Professor, and Preceptor; Sir Knight James R. MacConnell, Right Eminent Department Commander, Northeastern Division.
Retinoschisis is clinically characterized by the formation of cavities within the retina, causing splitting between the retinal layers in the macula and the peripheral retina. It has a severe impact on visual function. Using the mouse model, Dr. Ambrosio’s grant proposal, “Novel Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Retinoschisis,” will identify new targets for molecular therapeutics and biomarkers and to evaluate their efficacy.
Dr. Ambrosio is an ophthalmologist and originally from Naples, Italy. Her areas of expertise are neuro-ophthalmology (the nervous system connection between brain and eye) and electrophysiology of vision (diagnosing and treating electrical disorders involving the eye). She is a member of Dr. Anne Fulton’s research group in the Ophthalmology Dept, which specializes in studying diseases of the retina.
The Knights Templar is a Masonic fraternal organization founded in the 11th century. Originally, they were laymen who protected and defended Christians travelling to Jerusalem, and were renowned for their fierceness and courage. Today, the Knights display their courage and goodwill in other ways, raising millions of dollars for medical research and educational assistance. The Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. is a charity sponsored by the (US) Grand Encampment of Knights Templar and founded in 1956. Its mission is “To improve vision through research education, and supporting access to care.”
Each year the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. invites eligible investigators to submit applications for pediatric ophthalmology research grants. Clinical and basic research on conditions that may be potentially preventable or correctable is encouraged. Career-Starter Research Grant recipients must be at the beginning of their academic careers and must have received M.D., Ph.D., or an equivalent degree.
Boston Children’s Hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, one of the largest academic pediatric facilities in the world, and home to the world's largest and most active research enterprise at a pediatric center.
The Department of Ophthalmology at Boston Children's Hospital is the largest pediatric ophthalmology service in the world.
For more information about Boston Children’s Hospital Ophthalmology Dept, please visit http://www.childrenshospital.org/centers-and-services/departments-and-divisions/department-of-ophthalmology/overview
Retinoschisis is clinically characterized by the formation of cavities within the retina, causing splitting between the retinal layers in the macula and the peripheral retina. It has a severe impact on visual function. Using the mouse model, Dr. Ambrosio’s grant proposal, “Novel Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Retinoschisis,” will identify new targets for molecular therapeutics and biomarkers and to evaluate their efficacy.
Dr. Ambrosio is an ophthalmologist and originally from Naples, Italy. Her areas of expertise are neuro-ophthalmology (the nervous system connection between brain and eye) and electrophysiology of vision (diagnosing and treating electrical disorders involving the eye). She is a member of Dr. Anne Fulton’s research group in the Ophthalmology Dept, which specializes in studying diseases of the retina.
The Knights Templar is a Masonic fraternal organization founded in the 11th century. Originally, they were laymen who protected and defended Christians travelling to Jerusalem, and were renowned for their fierceness and courage. Today, the Knights display their courage and goodwill in other ways, raising millions of dollars for medical research and educational assistance. The Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. is a charity sponsored by the (US) Grand Encampment of Knights Templar and founded in 1956. Its mission is “To improve vision through research education, and supporting access to care.”
Each year the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. invites eligible investigators to submit applications for pediatric ophthalmology research grants. Clinical and basic research on conditions that may be potentially preventable or correctable is encouraged. Career-Starter Research Grant recipients must be at the beginning of their academic careers and must have received M.D., Ph.D., or an equivalent degree.
Boston Children’s Hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, one of the largest academic pediatric facilities in the world, and home to the world's largest and most active research enterprise at a pediatric center.
The Department of Ophthalmology at Boston Children's Hospital is the largest pediatric ophthalmology service in the world.
For more information about Boston Children’s Hospital Ophthalmology Dept, please visit http://www.childrenshospital.org/centers-and-services/departments-and-divisions/department-of-ophthalmology/overview