For the 28th year, the independent Scientific Selection Committee of the Alcon Research Institute (ARI) is awarding outstanding researchers who have dedicated their lives to studying sight. Dr. Robert Massof and Dr. Eli Peli were nominated by previous winners and have been selected to jointly receive one of the 5 prestigious awards presented this year.  Drs. Massof and Peli will share $200,000 in unrestricted grant money to continue their research and will be recognized at the next ARI Symposium.

“We are honored to be recognized by and to join this illustrious group of ophthalmic researchers,” said Dr. Massof.  Dr. Peli added, “We are very pleased that the Alcon Research Institute chose to highlight the importance and value of vision rehabilitation as a critical part of the spectrum of care for people with impaired vision.”

Dr. Massof and Dr. Peli conduct research on low vision rehabilitation.  Their work is devoted to developing new technology and clinical methods for restoring lost function to people with disabling visual impairments.  Dr. Massof is a graduate of Indiana University and is now a professor and director at the Lions Vision Research & Rehabilitation Center at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.  Dr. Peli is a graduate of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and the New England College of Optometry.  He currently serves as a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and as the Moakley Scholar in Aging Eye Research at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The Alcon Research Institute has long recognized the individual contributions and career achievements of the world’s leading researchers in ophthalmology,” said Dr. Stanley Chang, chairman of the Alcon Research Institute, Edward Harkness Professor, and chair of Ophthalmology, Columbia University. “The scientific contributions these two have made to the study of vision will have profound effects on future research and treatments.”

In addition to unrestricted grants, awardees are also invited to a symposium every other year where they and other past winners engage in two days of data presentation and discussion about the most current research in ophthalmology.  Many past ARI winners have gone on to win other prestigious awards from leading ophthalmic organizations. To date, the Alcon Research Institute has granted approximately $22 million to support the research efforts of award recipients.

About the Alcon Research Institute

The Alcon Research Institute (ARI) supports global advancements in eye health by honoring those who make outstanding research contributions to the vision sciences. The ARI aims to further the study of eye health and create ongoing partnerships with vision researchers around the world. Each year, the ARI identifies exemplary leaders in ophthalmic research and honors each with this prestigious award and a generous, unrestricted grant to fund ongoing research.

About Alcon

With the largest corporate research and development commitment of any eye care company worldwide, Alcon develops pharmaceutical products to treat glaucoma, dry eye, infection, inflammation and allergy; surgical products for cataract, vitreoretinal and refractive procedures, and consumer products in the areas of contact lens care, dry eye and ocular health. In 2008, Alcon invested $618 million to research and develop new products. Over the next five years, Alcon plans to invest at least $3 billion to discover and develop new treatments for conditions and diseases of the eye. Click here for more information about the ARI and Alcon