Schepens to develop ‘think tank’ for cures of blinding diseases

BOSTON — The Schepens Eye Research Institute will create a “think tank” to approach ocular diseases from novel perspectives, according to a press release from Schepens. The institute said it plans to use a grant from the National Institutes of Health to create teams of investigators from other areas of medicine such as rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease to search for cures for blinding diseases.

Schepens is the only eye research institute to receive such an award, according to the press release. The grant is part of a larger initiative dubbed the NIH Roadmap, which seeks new ways to address problems that have not been solved by traditional research.

The 3-year grant of $2.2 million will fund the planning and piloting phase of “what will ultimately be an interdisciplinary research center,” according to the press release. During the 3 years, Schepens will hold a series of symposia and workshops to develop new hypotheses on the causes of blinding eye disease, the press release said; the second year will be spent testing the hypotheses, and the third year will be spent evaluating the results.