Expanding Our Vision

Long recognized as a national and international leader in eye care, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is beginning a new campaign to expand its endowment and ensure permanent funding for the future. A stable and ongoing base of support will allow the department to continue to explore new projects in patient care, research and education in the hope of eliminating vision loss.

With strong clinicians and a talented core of basic scientists, the department is well-positioned to care for patients, unearth the root causes of eye disease, develop new treatments and train students to become the ophthalmology and vision science leaders of the future. The National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recognized the department's excellence with awards that place it among the top NIH ophthalmology grant recipients in the country. Continued cuts in federal grants and a growing need for answers to eye disease as the population ages, however, make clear the need for a more stable, dependable source of funding.

This source of funding, the Expanding Our Vision fund, will play a critical role in setting Wisconsin apart from other ophthalmology departments around the country. It will support new initiatives as our physicians and researchers continue their work on eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. It also will fund research in ocular epidemiology, oncology and pediatrics. "A strong endowment supports the cutting-edge, high-risk research that is often required before we can obtain federal funding to support research programs," said Robert Nickells, PhD, department vice chair for research. "In addition, a strong endowment sustains the education and training of future ophthalmologists and researchers as well as providing leading-edge patient care. We already provide world-class eye care, but we must continue to build on our history to support our vision for the future."

Although we are a leader in patient care and research, the University of Wisconsin's endowment lags behind that of its peers in leading academic ophthalmology departments. "Our goal is to increase our endowment tenfold," Dr. Nickells said. "This will allow us to continue and expand upon the level of patient care, research and education for which we are known."

The UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences believes in a future without vision loss. Please join us to make this future a reality. Future issues of foresight will provide details about specific projects to be supported with this fund.

You can now donate to the Expanding Our Vision fund through the UW Foundation.

For more information about how to support the UW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, please contact Sarah Fuelleman at (608)262-3953 or sfuelleman@ophth.wisc.edu. Thank you for considering a gift to the Expanding Our Vision campaign.