Seven new PhD Studentships for 2017

Fight for Sight has awarded a new round of PhD Studentships for eye research.

Fight for Sight has awarded its annual round of PhD Studentships in eye research which have commenced this October.

PhD Studentship grants support the training of a graduate student for three years. By supporting some of the best budding scientists in the UK to undertake a PhD, Fight for Sight’s funding proactively encourages the next generation of vision researchers.

These scientists are enthusiastic and full of novel ideas and Fight for Sight’s PhD Studentship supports the development of their skills under the close supervision of leading academics in the field of eye research.

In the 2017 grants round, Fight for Sight received 51 abstract applications, invited 18 full applications and awarded 7 PhD Studentships. The research projects cover a variety of topics ranging from targeting a protein called CAMKII as a therapeutic target for diabetic macular oedema to investigating ways to inhibit innate immune responses to retinal gene therapy.

The next call for applications for Fight for Sight’s PhD Studentship grants will open in August 2018.

Siobhan Marie Ludden

In 2014 Dr Anna Horwood was awarded the Fight of Sight PhD Studentship at the University of Reading, where she supervised Siobhan. They researched how blurred near vision affects children’s progress at school. She is currently finishing off her thesis.

“The PhD Studentship has been an invaluable opportunity which has allowed me to develop as a researcher, develop my critical thinking and problem solving skills, among other skills, and present my research at conferences” said Siobhan. “Ophthalmic research is of the utmost importance, vision is essential and the consequences of vision problems can be serious and wide-ranging. It is essential for us to understand the visual system and continuously develop the most effective methods of improving and maintaining vision through high quality research.”

Once Siobhan finishes her PhD she hopes to continue in the research field, focusing on clinical research.

Neil Meemaduma, Fight for Sight’s Research Manager, said: “We have funded a really interesting variety of pioneering and innovative research projects. These will not only take us closer towards our mission of stopping sight loss, but will also increase capacity in eye research by training and developing the skills of the PhD students."