Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, Awarded Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award

Boston, Mass. — Reza Dana, M.D., M.Sc., MPH, the Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, has been awarded a Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Stein Innovation Award in the amount of $300,000 over three years. An internationally recognized expert in the fields of corneal and transplantation immunology, Dr. Dana is one of just 11 researchers nationwide to have received the award, which was established in 2014 to provide flexible funding to scientists pursuing leading edge research on blinding diseases. 

With this support from RPB, Dr. Dana will develop and test the efficacy of novel, biocompatible adhesives to prevent and/or mitigate vision loss caused by corneal injuries and immune-mediated corneal damage. This research could revolutionize treatment for many patients with severe corneal injuries and corneal thinning as a result of infection and severe inflammation. 

“Dr. Dana is a quintessential clinician-scientist who is recognized worldwide for his seminal contributions to ocular immunology and transplantation biology,” said Joan W. Miller, M.D., the David Glendenning Cogan Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital. “I am so pleased and grateful for RPB’s support of his important work, which will help to identify and address important questions in ocular surface research using novel, cutting edge approaches.”

About Research to Prevent Blindness

Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled more than $357 million into eye research. As a result, RPB has been identified with nearly every major breakthrough in vision research in that time. For information on RPB’s grants program, listings of RPB institutional and individual grantees, and findings generated by these awards, go to www.rpbusa.org.

About Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Massachusetts Eye and Ear, founded in 1824, is an international center for treatment and research and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Specializing in ophthalmology (eye care) and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (ear, nose and throat care), Mass. Eye and Ear clinicians provide care ranging from the routine to the very complex. Also home to the world's largest community of hearing and vision researchers, Mass. Eye and Ear has pioneered new treatments for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck. Our scientists are driven by a mission to discover the basic biology underlying these conditions and to develop new treatments and cures. In the 2017-2018 "Best Hospitals Survey," U.S. News & World Report ranked Mass. Eye and Ear #1 in New England for eye (#4 in nation) and ear, nose and throat care (#2 in nation). For more information about life-changing care and research at Mass. Eye and Ear, please visit our blog, Focus, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology

The Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology (eye.hms.harvard.edu) is one of the leading and largest academic departments of ophthalmology in the nation. More than 400 full-time faculty and trainees work at nine Harvard Ophthalmology affiliate institutions, including Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Joslin Diabetes Center/Beetham Eye Institute, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, VA Maine Healthcare System, and Cambridge Health Alliance. Formally established in 1871, the department has been built upon a strong and rich foundation in medical education, research, and clinical care. Through the years, faculty and alumni have profoundly influenced ophthalmic science, medicine, and literature—helping to transform the field of ophthalmology from a branch of surgery into an independent medical specialty at the forefront of science.