Sowing the seeds for the future of vision loss research

Fight for Sight’s Small Grants allow researchers to collect preliminary data in a small-scale study. This type of seed funding is critical, not only for collecting pilot data and establishing confidence in a research idea, but also for researchers to secure future funding.

Fight for Sight has awarded a total of £176,092.49 to 12 small-scale studies across a wide range of vision loss conditions, from age-related macular degeneration to inherited retinal disease.

This year’s Small Grant recipients:

Fight for Sight Small Grants

• Jasmin Charlton (University College London): Feasibility of mindfulness visualisation to treat visual hypersensitivity
• Dr Leonie Fingerhut (University of Edinburgh): Tackling sight-threatening immune reactions in microbial keratitis
• Dr Michelle McClements (University of Oxford): Optimising delivery of gene therapies for a genetic mutation associated with inherited retinal disease
• Dr Linda Troeberg (University of East Anglia): Understanding cell processes in age-related macular degeneration
• Dr Htoo Wai (University of Southampton): Developing a new treatment method to correct harmful genetic messages in inherited retinal disease

Fight for Sight / Birdshot Uveitis Society Small Grant

• Nikolas Pontikos (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology): Applying AI to screening for Birdshot Chorioretinopathy and predicting response to treatment

"Birdshot Uveitis Society is delighted to be able to jointly fund with Fight for Sight the work of Dr Nikolas Pontikos…For good treatment outcomes it is most helpful for this rare eye condition to be caught early.  Left untreated vision will gradually reduce and with time blindness becomes inevitable in many cases. We hope that AI will improve faster diagnosis and reduce the number of people that this happens to." - Birdshot Uveitis Society

Fight for Sight / Bowman Club Small Grants

• Dr Matteo Airaldi (University of Liverpool): Predicting development of fibrosis in Fuchs Endothelial Dystrophy corneal imaging
• Dr Kerri McLean (University of Liverpool): Using a new technique to assess antibiotic resistance and effectiveness
• Dr Neeru Vallabh (University of Liverpool): Understanding the protein changes in the eye’s fluid, in Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy (FED), glaucoma, pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK), and cataract

Fight for Sight / Glaucoma UK Small Grant

• Dr Ngan Pan Bennett Au (University of Surrey): Investigating barriers to nerve growth after optic nerve injury

“Glaucoma UK is proud to continue our partnership with Fight for Sight for another year. Currently there are no effective treatments which restore vision lost due to glaucoma. It’s exciting to be co-funding this project which is looking at the possibility of regenerating nerves damaged through glaucoma. It gives immense hope to our members and supporters that such research is being carried out, and bringing us one step closer to a world without sight loss due to glaucoma.” - Joanna Hodgkinson, Head of Research, Glaucoma UK

Fight for Sight / Nystagmus Network

• Dr Eloise Keeling (University of Southampton): Investigating a potential treatment for Oculocutaneous Albinism type 1 (OCA1)
• Dr Lee Mcilreavy (Cardiff University): Investigating visual acuity in infantile nystagmus

"The Nystagmus Network is delighted to be collaborating with Fight for Sight by co-funding and supporting two 12 month small grant research projects, commencing in early 2025. We are excited that both projects have the potential to shape diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to nystagmus in the future." - Nystagmus Network

Impact spotlight: from Small Grant to investigational therapy

Wondering where a Small Grant could take you? One of our previous awardees, Professor Jacqueline van der Spuy, has demonstrated the key role that seed funding can play in scientific breakthroughs.

Back in 2014, Professor van der Spuy was awarded a Fight for Sight/Retina UK Small Grant to confirm what changes in a gene called AIPL1 could cause the rare condition Leber congenital amaurosis. That work contributed to the development of an investigational therapy which has recently demonstrated “life-changing improvements in functional vision” for four toddlers with the condition.

Asked about the role of early-stage research, Professor van der Spuy said: “Early-stage research may seem very far removed from a direct application, so I think it's important to highlight and understand that early-stage research underpins the foundational basis from which all further research progresses, which may ultimately facilitate the development of a therapy.

Looking for funding to test your next idea?

If you have research idea that you need to collect pilot data for, please visit this page for more information and guidance. The funding call for next year’s round of applications is currently open until 16 July 2025.