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Glaucoma neuroprotection
Protecting and preserving retinal ganglion cells and the optic nerve, addressing the underlying mechanisms of vision loss rather than its symptoms.
Primary focus areaA glaucoma research initiative
Advancing transformational research in glaucoma neuroprotection and vision restoration.
QVIS funds bold, forward-thinking science with a clear path toward real-world impact. We back research with the ambition and translational potential to reshape how glaucoma is understood and treated.
About QVIS
QVIS is a funding initiative dedicated to advancing transformational research in glaucoma neuroprotection and vision restoration.
Made possible through the generous support of the John and Daria Barry Foundation, a Florida-based philanthropic organization with a visionary commitment to eye health, QVIS was established to accelerate breakthroughs that move the needle for patients living with glaucoma.
The John & Daria Barry Foundation
Florida · A philanthropic commitment to eye health
Our focus
Research that goes beyond pressure management.
We fund bold, forward-thinking research with a clear path toward real-world impact. Our grants are specifically targeted at glaucoma neuroprotection and vision restoration, two areas where innovative science has the potential to fundamentally change outcomes for patients.
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Vision restoration
Pursuing the possibility of restoring sight by regenerating and reconnecting the neurons that carry vision from the eye to the brain.
Primary focus areaWhat we support
Glaucoma research that is scientifically rigorous and genuinely transformational, with the ambition and translational potential to reshape how glaucoma is understood and treated.
Outside our scope
Proposals centered on drugs or devices designed to lower or assess intraocular pressure. We are seeking research that goes beyond pressure management.
Funding
Applications are currently closed.
We anticipate a second round of funding applications to open October 1, 2026. Please check back then.
When the next round opens, we'll be inviting proposals that meet the following:
- Principal investigators at academic, clinical, or non-profit research institutions.
- Projects in glaucoma neuroprotection or vision restoration.
- A clear path toward translation — scientifically rigorous and genuinely transformational.
Proposals focused on lowering or assessing intraocular pressure fall outside our scope. Questions? Email info@qvis.com.
You're on the list
We'll email you when the October 2026 funding round opens.
Scientific Advisory Board
The scientists guiding our grants.
QVIS funding decisions are guided by a board of internationally recognized leaders in glaucoma, neuroprotection, optic nerve regeneration, and vision science.
Jeffrey L. Goldberg, MD, PhD
Blumenkranz Smead Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology; Director, Byers Eye Institute
Stanford University School of Medicine
Dr. Goldberg is Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Byers Eye Institute and the Spencer Center for Vision Research at Stanford University, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. His research is directed at neuroprotection and regeneration of retinal ganglion cells and the optic nerve, with his laboratory developing novel molecular, stem cell, and nanotherapeutics approaches for eye repair. In the clinic, he is widely known for designing and implementing FDA clinical trials for optic nerve neuroprotection and regeneration.
Jonathan G. Crowston, MBBS, FRCOphth, FRANZCO, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology; Director, Save Sight Institute
University of Sydney & Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Professor Crowston is Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Save Sight Institute at the University of Sydney, and a senior Glaucoma Consultant at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. His extensive research and clinical work have significantly advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of glaucoma and related optic neuropathies. He previously served as Head of the Centre for Vision Research at Duke-NUS Singapore and as Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne.
Keith Martin, MA, BM BCh, DM, FRCOphth, FRANZCO
Ringland Anderson Professor and Head of Ophthalmology
University of Melbourne & Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA)
Professor Martin is the Ringland Anderson Professor and Head of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne, and Managing Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA). He was previously the inaugural Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge and Deputy Director of the John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair. His research focuses on developing new strategies to protect and regenerate the optic nerve in glaucoma.
Sally Temple, PhD
Scientific Director & Co-Founder
Neural Stem Cell Institute, Albany, NY
Dr. Temple is the Scientific Director and Co-Founder of the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI) in Albany, New York. She leads a team of researchers focused on using neural stem cells to develop therapies for eye, brain, and spinal cord disorders, including macular degeneration and neurodegenerative disease. A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Award and a member of the National Academy of Medicine, she is internationally recognized for her pioneering discovery and characterization of neural stem cells. Following her group's discovery of a stem cell in the adult human retinal pigment epithelium, she helps lead a cell therapy clinical trial for patients with age-related macular degeneration.
John G. Flanagan, PhD, DSc, FCOptom, FAAO, FARVO
Professor of Optometry and Vision Science
Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, UC Berkeley
Dr. Flanagan is Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has held continuous federal research funding for over 34 years, with expertise spanning glaucoma, neuroscience, and the basic mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. His current research focuses on the role of glia in neuroinflammation and the development of potential neuroprotective therapies for glaucoma.
Larry Benowitz, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Benowitz is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh, and formerly Professor of Neurosurgery and Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children's Hospital. His research centers on optic nerve regeneration, where he has identified molecular signals that enable the projection neurons of the eye, the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), to survive better and regrow their connections through the optic nerve and back to the brain after optic nerve damage. He has also studied the role of inflammation as a key factor in the death of retinal ganglion cells in animal models of glaucoma.
Leonard A. Levin, MD, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Neurology & Neurosurgery
McGill University, Montreal
Dr. Levin is Distinguished James McGill Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Professor of Neurology & Neurosurgery at McGill University. He is a physician-scientist whose clinical activities are in neuro-ophthalmology, particularly untreatable optic nerve diseases. His research program focuses on mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell death at the molecular, tissue culture, and whole animal level. This includes the role axonal damage plays in inducing loss of retinal ganglion cells and how axons themselves undergo injury. He is active in the development of new drugs for the optic nerve, and frequently serves as a consultant to industry on the development of translational programs for neuroprotection in glaucoma and other optic nerve diseases.
Yvonne Ou, MD
Dr. and Mrs. Stacy R. Mettier Jr. Professor of Ophthalmology; Vice Chair for Postgraduate Education
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Dr. Ou is the Dr. and Mrs. Stacy R. Mettier Jr. Professor of Ophthalmology and Vice Chair for Postgraduate Education at the University of California, San Francisco, where she also directs nationally recognized surgeon-scientist training programs. Her research focuses on the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of glaucoma neurodegeneration, neural circuit disassembly and repair, and vision restoration strategies including retinal ganglion cell transplantation. As a glaucoma specialist, she has also developed innovative translational approaches for diagnosis and monitoring, including novel electrophysiologic and virtual reality-based technologies.
Work with QVIS
Research with the ambition to reshape how glaucoma is treated.
If your work pursues neuroprotection or vision restoration, and has the rigor and translational potential to change outcomes for patients, we want to hear from you.
Made possible by
The John & Daria Barry Foundation
A Florida-based philanthropic organization with a visionary commitment to eye health. Their support established QVIS to accelerate breakthroughs for patients living with glaucoma.
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