National Eye Institute Grants

Open National Eye Institute grants

• Novel Approach to 24-hr IOP Assessment

  Up to $682KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  Twenty-four-hour intraocular pressure (IOP) assessment remains an unmet need in the clinical management of glaucoma. Among the devices that yield IOP ...

• Enhancement of RGC survival and Optic Nerve Regeneration by Cytokine Polarized Myeloid Cells

  Up to $665KDeadline: Feb 28, 2029open

  A significant percent of individuals with optic nerve (ON) injuries, secondary to trauma or glaucoma, suffer permanent visual loss. The adult mammalia...

• Non-destructive assessment of retinal differentiation capacity and developmental maturity

  Up to $619KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  The ability to generate patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has revolutionized the field of regenerative medicine. Like many researchers, w...

• Modulating Ferroptosis in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

  Up to $589KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  /ABSTRACT Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) affects 6.1 million Americans over 40 years of age, is the leading indication for corneal transpl...

• Functional organization and spatial resolution of attentional feedback from frontal to visual cortex

  Up to $511KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  Sensory processing is a way to understand the nervous system in action. Behavioral context strongly affects sensory processing. For example, a brief v...

• Development of Human Dorsal Visual Cortex

  Up to $482KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  The dorsal visual stream is one of the two major processing pathways in human visual cortex, and is involved in attentional and spatial aspects of vis...

• Influences of viewing geometry on neural computations of motion and depth

  Up to $469KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  Vision is active—we move our eyes to acquire information and to track objects of interest. However, eye movements have visual consequences; for exampl...

• Mechanisms of chaperone-mediated folding of beta-propeller proteins essential for vision.

  Up to $468KDeadline: Feb 28, 2029open

  The cytosolic chaperonin CCT is a large protein complex that plays an indispensable role in maintaining the cellular proteome by assisting in the fold...

• The role of centriole linkage in retinal degeneration and hearing loss

  Up to $462KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  The role of the basal body (BB) and daughter centriole (DC) linkage in photoreceptor biology and pathophysiology has not been explored, while the moth...

• Fate Mapping and Functional Analysis of Col8a2-Positive Cells in Corneal Endothelial Development and Disease

  Up to $446KDeadline: May 31, 2028open

  The corneal endothelium preserves corneal transparency and vision by regulating stromal hydration. Mutations in COL8A2, which encodes a key extracellu...

• Molecular and physiological mechanisms of inner retinal remodeling

  Up to $437KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  Retinal degeneration results in low vision and blindness by causing primary death of rods and cones and secondary pathophysiological remodeling of inn...

• Decoding time-dependent nonlinearities underlying responses to natural stimuli

  Up to $428KDeadline: May 31, 2028open

  Summary and expected impact Our understanding of retinal processing, built from decades of work with artificial stimuli, fails to account for response...

• A method for combined pulse chase labeling and super-resolution microscopy in mouse rod photoreceptor neurons

  Up to $421KDeadline: May 31, 2028open

  Efficient protein trafficking is vital for photoreceptor and visual health since photoreceptor cell death is directly preceded by protein mistrafficki...

• Characterization of bicornuate cones in the human retina

  Up to $405KDeadline: May 31, 2028open

  Rod and cone photoreceptors are highly specialized cells responsible for transforming the information reaching the eyes in the form of photons into th...

• Optic nerve head astrocyte sensitivity to glaucomatous insult

  Up to $387KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  /ABSTRACT Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for optic nerve damage in glaucoma. Perplexingly, optic nerve sensitivity to IOP ...

• UCSF Program in Resident Opportunities for Mentored Ophthalmic Training in Experimentation (PROMOTE)

  Up to $253KDeadline: Feb 28, 2030open

  /ABSTRACT The rationale and fundamental goals of the UCSF Program in Resident Opportunities for Mentored Ophthalmic Training in Experimentation (PROMO...

• Deciphering the role of mitochondrial/autophagy dysfunction in regulating inflammatory processes during AMD pathogenesis

  Up to $249KDeadline: May 31, 2029open

  The deregulation of autophagy and heightened inflammation has been implicated in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blin...

• Measuring Ocular Pulse Amplitude with Fixed Force Applanation on Normotensive and Hypertensive Eyes

  Up to $245KDeadline: Feb 28, 2027open

  /ABSTRACT The measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is an integral part of the standard eye exam and elevated IOP is the greatest risk factor for ...

• Smartphone-based Retinal Imaging for Diabetic Retinopathy Detection in Egypt

  Up to $179KDeadline: Feb 28, 2027open

  Diabetes affects 537 million adults globally in 2021, with 75% residing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a co...

• Coordinated mental simulation in the hippocampus and primary visual cortex during active behavior

  Up to $124KDeadline: Feb 28, 2027open

  / ABSTRACT Our sensory experience goes beyond what is immediately in front of us, as evident when we recall memories or imagine future scenarios. Thes...

Where National Eye Institute grants go

Recent grant recipients are concentrated in these states. Funders sometimes fund outside their primary states for high-fit projects, so don't self-eliminate solely on geography — check each opportunity's stated eligibility.

How to apply for National Eye Institute grants

Most National Eye Institute applications require: an organizational profile with mission and programs, a project proposal aligned with the funder's stated priorities, a project budget, and supporting attachments (IRS determination letter, board list, recent financials). Federal applicants additionally need a SAM.gov UEI and an active Grants.gov account.