Laboratory Information:
National Eye Institute
2020 Vision Place
Bethesda, MD 20892-3655
Website: http://www.nei.nih.gov/
Technology Transfer Website: http://www.nei.nih.gov/funding/
Agency/Department: Dept. of Health and Human Services
Region: Mid-Atlantic
FLC Laboratory Representative:
Mr. David Whitmer
Phone: 301-496-4876
Fax: 301-496-9970
Email: whitmerd@mail.nih.gov
Background/History of the Laboratory:
The National Eye Institute (NEI) was established
by Congress in 1968 to protect and prolong the vision of the
American people. As one of the Federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NEI conducts
and
supports research that helps prevent and treat eye diseases and other disorders of vision. This research
leads
to sight-saving treatments, reduces visual impairment and blindness, and improves the quality of life
for people
of all ages. NEI-supported research has advanced our knowledge of how the visual system functions in
health
and disease. Vision research is supported by the NEI through approximately 1600 research grants and
training
awards made to scientists at more than 250 medical centers, hospitals, universities, and other institutions
across the country and around the world. The NEI also conducts laboratory and patient-oriented research
at its
own facilities located on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Because of continued Congressional and
public support, the national investment in vision research has yielded substantial dividends to treat
many
potentially blinding eye diseases.
Mission of the Laboratory:
Part of the NEI mission is to develop public
and professional education programs that help prevent blindness,
reduce visual impairment, and increase awareness of services and devices that are available for people
with low
vision. To meet these objectives, the NEI has established the National Eye Health Education Program
(NEHEP), a
partnership of over 65 professional, civic, and voluntary organizations and government agencies concerned
with
eye health. The program represents an extension of the NEI's support of vision research, where results
are
disseminated to health professionals, patients, and the public. The NEI is also the lead Federal agency
for the
vision and hearing chapter in Healthy People 2010, the nation's blueprint to improve public health.
Technology Transfer Mechanisms:
- Fellowships
- Research Supplements
- Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)
- Grants
- Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
Technology Areas of Expertise:
- Floaters
- Glaucoma
- Histoplasmosis
- Cornea and Corneal Disease
- Retinal Detachment
- Retinopathy of Prematurity
- Usher Syndrome
- Vitreous Detachment
- Eye Diseases Simulations
