NFLEF in the News!
North Florida Lions Eye Foundation Continues to aid research for treatment and cure for Age Related Macular Degeneration.
On May 28th, members of the Board of Directors of the North Florida Lions Eye Foundation again visited the University of Florida Ophthalmology Department & made its third donation to aid research for a cure for macular degeneration. The $25,000.00 donation was graciously received by Dr. Bill Driebe, Chairman of the Ophthalmology Dept. and Dr. Timothy Garrett, of the Chemistry Department. Due to the present economy, research funds have become very limited – deepest gratitude for the North Florida Lions Eye Foundation ‘s contribution was expressed by the entire team.
Dr. Driebe & Dr. Garrett are still confident that a treatment and cure for the dreaded disease is imminent but only with funds to keep the projects moving forward, can they succeed.
Your foundation continues to serve through donations to research & individuals with special needs. The Board of Directors is proud to be a part of a team searching for a cure for dreaded eye diseases & is truly dedicated to this cause.
Submitted by, Lion Walt McLanahan, Chairman
Macular degeneration researchers receive Lions Club award for $25,000.
A $25,000 check hits the hand of William Driebe, M.D. This means more eyes can be studied. More equipment can be purchased. Maybe a treatment can be found. It’s on the minds of everyone in the room: the doctors and the members of the North Florida Lions Eye Foundation, a Lions Club charity that helps the community with various eye sight problems.
The Foundation awarded the money to William Dawson, Ph.D., a UF emeritus professor of ophthalmology, and Timothy Garrett, Ph.D., director of the General Clinical Research Center Core Laboratory, for their studies on age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that destroys central vision. Driebe, chairman of the ophthalmology department, accepted the check for the absent Dawson. This was the third consecutive year the club donated money. The previous two awards were $10,000 each.
“Macular degeneration kind of hits a spot with me because my brother has it,” said Walter McLanahan, chairman of the foundation. Though the Lions Club has long been associated with helping people with eye problems, few clubs donate to research.
The foundation selected the research duo for Dawson’s 30 years studying macular degeneration and Garrett’s forward analytical research technique called imaging mass spectrometry, which allows them to study the specific chemicals involved.
Hopefully, this research could lead to a treatment for the eye disease by targeting those chemicals. This award will be used to fund equipment, specimens and new research methods.
Currently, the researchers have to flatten and dry the eye tissue to observe it. But the tissue — and its valuable information — can easily be lost. Garrett said with this money, he hopes to find a way to view the eye without cutting or drying so it can be observed in normal atmospheric conditions.
Garrett, an analytical chemist, knew nothing about macular degeneration before Dawson contacted him about the spectrometry technique. But he enjoys the process of learning and the applications of working with the ophthalmologist.
“It seems to be a good team to understand how to get this kind of new technology applied to some solid science,” he said.
Submitted by, Alyssa LaRenzie
