The San Francisco-based Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) has announced $2.5 million in annual research funding.

Grants were awarded to 18 investigators at universities in the United States, Nigeria, and Hong Kong focused on research to cure glaucoma and restore vision. For the first time, GRF awarded funding through two Catalyst for a Cure initiatives. The first, awarded $1 million to principal investigators in support of vision restoration efforts, enabling them to continue promising research toward restoring vision in glaucoma, while $800,000 was awarded through its Prevent and Cure Neurodegeneration Catalyst for a Cure initiative. In addition, 10 one-year Shaffer Grants of $55,000 each will be awarded to support research into glaucoma genetics and new glaucoma treatments.

“In August we’ll bring together scientists we fund with some of the brightest scientific minds in vision research for our annual Catalyst Meeting in Boston,” said GRF board chair Andrew G. Iwach. “GRF is doing our best to invest in research that brings us closer to our goal of curing glaucoma and restoring vision, while at the same time developing better solutions for patients today.”

For a complete list of grantees, see the GRF website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/aquaArts studio)