BrightFocus Foundation Awards Nearly $13M to 50 Scientists for Alzheimer’s, Macular Degeneration, and Glaucoma Research

New grant funding supports cutting-edge scientific ideas across risk reduction, earlier detection, and new treatments for diseases of mind and sight.

Private research nonprofit BrightFocus Foundation today announced nearly $13 million in grants to support early investigative research into Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. This includes $7.3 million to its Alzheimer’s Disease Research program, $3.8 million to its Macular Degeneration Research program, and $1.8 million to its National Glaucoma Research program.

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Early funding from BrightFocus Foundation has catalyzed thousands of life-enhancing scientific breakthroughs, including the first commercially available blood test in the U.S. to identify early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and the first-ever reversal of age-related vision loss from glaucoma in mice using gene therapy. Pictured is BrightFocus Macular Degeneration Research grant recipient Albert Gonzales, PhD.

Guided by scientific advisory committees of world-renowned researchers in the field, BrightFocus invests in highly innovative, experimental research and creative ideas with the most promise to foster a better understanding of disease onset, improve early detection and diagnosis, develop new treatments, and—ultimately—lead to cures. This year’s grants were awarded to scientists in 10 countries including the U.S.

“This year’s grant awards represent some of the boldest, most cutting-edge ideas in vision and brain health research,” said BrightFocus President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller. “With recent major cuts to federal research funding, private foundations like BrightFocus are more essential than ever—stepping up to keep promising research alive, nurture early-career scientists, and accelerate breakthroughs.”

BrightFocus Foundation’s research programs are supported entirely by private donor contributions from the public and corporate and foundation grants; BrightFocus receives no government funding. Learn more about how to support our work.

A complete list of the new research projects will be available this summer on BrightFocus’ website, with additional details forthcoming upon the completion of individual agreements with the partnering institutions and scientists.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Over 7 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, terminal brain disorder that has no known cause or cure. Unless scientists can unlock the secrets of this disease, the number of cases is expected to triple by the year 2050. Grant recipients are studying a range of approaches spanning different areas of the brain and body to better understand the disease’s onset and progression.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant recipients:

Katerina Akassoglou, PhD

The J. David Gladstone Institutes

Federica Anastasi, PhD

Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (Spain)

Isabelle Aubert, PhD

Sunnybrook Research Institute (Canada)

Daniel Bos, MD, PhD

Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Todd J. Cohen, PhD

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Joshua Emmerson, PhD

Washington University in St. Louis

Ghazaleh Eskandari-Sedighi, PhD

University of California, Irvine

Anllely Fernandez, PhD

Indiana University

Hongjun Fu, PhD

The Ohio State University

Laura Fumagalli, PhD

Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (Belgium)

John Hardy, PhD, FRS

University College London (U.K.)

Joseph Herdy, PhD

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Sarah Elise Heuer, PhD

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Jack Humphrey, PhD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ksenia Kastanenka, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital

Jr-Jiun Liou, PhD

University of Pittsburgh

Jae-eun Miller, PhD

Columbia University

Miguel Moutinho, PharmD, PhD

Indiana University

Carolina Ochoa-Rosales, PhD

Adolfo Ibáñez University (Chile)

Omar Peña-Ramos, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine

Cyril Pottier, PhD

Washington University in St. Louis

Marcos Schaan Profes, PhD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Nader Saffari, PhD, MSc, BSc

University College London (U.K.)

Monica Santisteban, PhD

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Feng Tian, PhD

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Rebecca Wallings, DPhil

Indiana University

Justyna Dobrowolska Zakaria, PhD

Northwestern University - Chicago Campus

Damian Zuloaga, PhD

University at Albany

Macular Degeneration Research

Twenty million U.S. adults have macular degeneration—the leading cause of vision loss in Americans aged 65 and older. Early detection and treatment are crucial to slowing the disease progression and preventing permanent vision loss. Grant recipients are exploring a wide range of innovative scientific approaches, from exploring ways to regenerate damaged cells to determining the influence of early-life events and lifestyle factors on disease risk.

Macular Degeneration Research grant recipients:

Mohajeet Balveer Bhuckory, PhD

Stanford University School of Medicine

Ana J. Chucair-Elliott, PhD

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Charles DeBoer, MD, PhD

Stanford University School of Medicine

Ashley Farre, PhD

University of Idaho

Valencia Fernandes, PhD

University of California, San Francisco

Masayuki Hata, MD, PhD

Kyoto University (Japan)

Ruchi Sharma, PhD

National Eye Institute, NIH

Nobuhiko Shiraki, PhD

Duke University School of Medicine

Daisy Yao Shu, PhD

University of New South Wales (Australia)

Jerzy Szablowski, PhD

William Marsh Rice University

Amir Mani Varnoosfaderani, PhD

University of Chicago

Joëlle Elise Vergroesen, PhD

Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam (Netherlands)

National Glaucoma Research

Around 4 million U.S. adults have glaucoma—a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. caused by damage to the optic nerve. Because there are often no early symptoms, as many as half of those affected may not even know they have it until irreversible vision loss has occurred. Although there is no cure, early detection and treatments can help slow the disease’s progression.

Grant recipients are investigating a wide range of scientific approaches, including novel treatments, early detection methods, and efforts to protect and regenerate retinal ganglion cells that could preserve or restore vision.

National Glaucoma Research grant recipients:

Brad Fortune, OD, PhD

Legacy Research Institute

Tatjana Jakobs, MD

Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear

Colleen McDowell, PhD

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rob Nickells, PhD

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Gavin Roddy, MD, PhD

Mayo Clinic, Rochester

Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD

University of California, Irvine

Dan Stamer, PhD

Duke University

Karl Wahlin, PhD

University of California, San Diego – Health Sciences

Pete Williams, PhD

Karolinska Institute (Sweden)

Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD

University of Southern California

BrightFocus encourages researchers with groundbreaking ideas to apply for a 2026 grant. Application information is available at brightfocus.org/apply.

About BrightFocus Foundation

BrightFocus Foundation is a premier global nonprofit funder of research to defeat Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Through its flagship research programs — Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Macular Degeneration Research, and National Glaucoma Research— the Foundation has awarded over $300 million in groundbreaking research funding since its inception in 1973 and shares the latest research findings, expert information, and resources to empower the millions impacted by these devastating diseases. Learn more at brightfocus.org.

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“With recent major cuts to federal research funding, private foundations like BrightFocus are more essential than ever—stepping up to keep promising research alive, nurture early-career scientists, and accelerate breakthroughs.”