The Owen Locke Foundation awarded a $1 million philanthropic grant to Monica Jablonski, PhD, Hamilton Endowed Professor, vice chair, and director of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, continuing its support of Dr. Jablonski’s research in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
This second grant from the foundation continues Dr. Jablonski’s research over the past year titled, “Emerging Treatments for AMD Leveraging a Breakthrough Topical Drug Delivery Platform.” The research focuses on effectively and safely delivering new therapeutics through the cornea to the retina, and developing innovative drugs for patients who are unserved by current treatments.
Dr. Jablonski is an expert in retinal cell biology, ocular pathophysiology, and pharmacological assessment of ocular therapeutics. She has spent more than 10 years engineering formulations for AMD and glaucoma.
The potential advances in this research met the criteria established by Gwendolyn and Owen Locke. The Owen Locke Foundation Fund for Research in Macular Degeneration funds research in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medical devices studying treatments or a cure for macular degeneration. The realization of this vision was made possible by the leadership and dedication of their friends and current board members Carol Bartels, Joan and Russ Smith, and Brenda Johnson.