New grants strategy aims to enable innovation at scale and transform eye health.
Moorfields Eye Charity has launched a significant national funding initiative to accelerate the urgent development of new eye health treatments and interventions.
The new Discovery and Translation Excellence Award establishes the charity as a national funder of eye health research. It will support two to three high-impact projects through a dedicated funding stream of at least £2 million, focused on UK-wide collaboration to revolutionise our understanding of eye conditions and ensure innovative treatments and diagnostics reach patients faster.
The award is the first major initiative of Moorfields Eye Charity’s new grants strategy which focuses on three impact areas - discovery science, translational innovation and clinical and healthcare environment. At its heart is a £50 million commitment of funding designed to transform the outlook for people living with or at risk of eye disease.
Sight loss is devastating, and impacts overall quality of life, mental and physical health, as well as health-related behaviours such as physical activity1. It also has a huge financial impact for the country, costing the UK economy £25.2 billion a year. In stark contrast to the scale of the impact, only 1.3% of the £2.56 billion spent on health research is specifically invested in eye research2.
Ola Krzywańska, PhD student at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
Robert Dufton, chief executive of Moorfields Eye Charity, said: “Without increased investment we risk a delay in fully leveraging technologies such as AI, and failing those affected by sight loss. By boosting our research funding by two-thirds over the next five years, this new strategy provides a great boost to eye health research at a critical time.”
“Supporting a national powerhouse of eye health innovation, we are proud to spark a new era of discovery and deliver life-changing treatments to patients much more quickly.”
The Discovery and Translation Excellence Award is designed to support projects which materially advance understanding of a topic or bring forward either a novel therapeutic approach or diagnostic tool, with results expected by 2030.
Dr Peter Bloomfield, director of grants and research at Moorfields Eye Charity, said: “This new award comes at a critical time. Right now, more than two million people across the country are living with sight loss – a number set to double over the next 30 years. Without discovery and translational research, the development of new therapeutics that we desperately need would grind to a halt. Similarly, it is essential to explore pathway design and implementation to enable the delivery of new treatments.”
Crucially, the new strategy will only fund projects that involve the sight loss community, along with prioritising projects that address health inequalities. Unlike many other eye health research charities, Moorfields Eye Charity provides funding for research and innovation into all eye conditions, from rare to common, that affect any age groups.
Dr Louise Wood CBE, chair of both Moorfields Eye Charity and the Association of Medical Research Charities, said: “The power of partnerships and funding research that leaves nobody behind are key elements of this new strategy. Collaboration fuels innovation and breakthroughs, and that’s why we want to see cross-disciplinary teams from across the UK working together to tackle eye health. By working in partnership with other medical research funders, partners, and through the support of our donors, we can increase the investment into eye health research that is urgently needed.”
Whilst expanding support to other leading UK-based eye health research institutions, the new strategy will continue to see funding made available for the trailblazing work of Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
Placeholder for Professor Andrew Dick, director of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and incoming dean of UCL’s Faculty of Brain Sciences, said: “The Discovery and Translation Excellence Award marks a new chapter for eye research in the UK. With it, Moorfields Eye Charity is empowering researchers across the UK to work together in new and transformative ways. We are deeply grateful that our work and that of Moorfields Eye Hospital remain central to this vision, and we are excited to continue our partnership as we push the boundaries of what is possible in eye research.”
Deepali Varma, NIHR National Specialty lead for Ophthalmology, said: “The NIHR has an affinity with Moorfields Eye Charity because we have a Biomedical Research Centre and a Clinical Research Facility based at Moorfields Eye Hospital. The NIHR has been at the forefront of ophthalmology research over the last two decades and we share the charity's ambition to shape the future of eye care through cutting-edge research."
‘Creating a better future in sight’ – Moorfields Eye Charity grants strategy for 2026-2031 – can be downloaded here.
Expressions of interest for the new Discovery & Translation Excellence Award are now open. Find out more about the application process and eligibility criteria here.
