SETU awarded €3.1 million for global research into vision and sight loss

SETU has been awarded €3.1 million in funding to advance global research into vision and sight loss.

The funding was secured under the Innovision Cofund by Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Principal Investigator of the Ocular Therapeutics Research Group (OTRG) in the PMBRC, and Research Group Manager, Tess Ames. 

The Innovision Cofund is a €3.1 million collaborative research programme focused on addressing the global challenges of ocular disease and sight loss. 

 A spokesperson for SETU said the achievement marked a major milestone, with SETU becoming the first Technological University in Ireland to coordinate a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND programme.

Vision impairment is a major and growing global health challenge impacting the quality of life, and overall health of billions of people worldwide. It also places a significant economic burden on individuals, healthcare systems, and societies at large. 

The spokesperson said Innovison will tackle that problem across disciplines, departments, and around the world, enabling researchers to take holistic approaches to the problem.

Commenting on the matter, Dr Fitzhenry said: "This is a global health crisis that demands urgent, innovative solutions to preserve quality of life for millions."

"By putting those living with ocular disease at the forefront of research, Innovision gives us the opportunity to really address this crisis," he said.

Innovision brings together a world-class network of partners, including the University of Iceland and Experimentica (Finland) to recruit highly qualified postdoctoral researchers to tackle the growing concern of ocular disease.

Additional collaborators span the globe, notably McMaster University (Canada) and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (USA), and patient advocacy organisations Fighting Blindness (Ireland) and the Dry Eye Foundation (USA). 

Additional network partners include University College Dublin, Queens University Belfast, University of Birmingham, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Loyola University Chicago, Rowan University, and industry leaders including Bausch+Lomb, SiriusXT, OcuDel, and OcuMedic.

Professor Veronica Campbell, SETU President commented: "We are delighted to launch Innovision and work with outstanding global partners to tackle this critical challenge. This initiative not only provides a unique opportunity for researchers and industry alike to make a real difference in people’s lives, but it demonstrates that SETU and Ireland’s South East are a driver of innovative, impactful, and creative research."

"We are especially pleased to see such strong engagement from industry partners, whose involvement will help ensure that research outcomes translate into real-world solutions for people living with vision impairment," said Prof Campbell.

Over the course of the programme, Innovision will recruit 12 experienced postdoctoral researchers to work across the global network and they will embark on cutting-edge projects exploring a wide range of topics including drug delivery, drug discovery and novel therapeutic approaches to combat vision impairment and blindness.

"Industry involvement is a vital part of Innovison’s mission," said Ms Ames, when commenting on the programme.

"We want to continue to grow the network over the next five years, expanding the potential for impact and real-world benefits," she added.

Companies or other research organisations interested in contributing to or collaborating with the programme can find out more information by contacting Ms Ames at tess.ames@setu.ie