Grants>Optometry

Beta Sigma Kappa Research Fellowships

The Beta Sigma Kappa (BSK) Research Fellowship program administered by the American Optometric Foundation (AOF) supports new optometric faculty research and/or optometric resident research.  The program’s funding is designed to benefit two young researchers each year whose academic curiosity leads them to seek answers to a vast variety of professionally-based questions covering a wide area of vision science, clinical practice, or eye related public health.

Eligibility

All optometry faculty within 3 years of faculty appointment and/or optometry residents at an accredited school or college of optometry, irrespective of membership in BSK, are eligible to apply for research fellowship award funding.

Application Procedures

Currently, there are two fellowships, each consisting of no less than $1,000, awarded annually.  Fellowship requests may exceed $1,000, and each fellowship will consist of no less than $1,000.  However, anything in excess of $1,000 will be at the discretion of the BSK Central World Council and may or may not be awarded.

Applications consisting of 5 pages or less, preferably in PDF format (International applicants with access limitations to a computer may submit in a typewritten format) as follow to: 

a.     Cover letter consisting of full contact information (including degree(s)), Institution, project title.

b.     Research plan

•    Statement of problem
•    Experimental design
•    Institution and other resources available
•    Relevance of problem to clinical optometry, vision science, or eye related public health
•    Plans for publication
•    Time table

c.     Budget explanation

•    State amount of grant request
•    Describe/Itemize costs
•    Justification for equipment, supplies and other expenses

d.   Helsinki declaration (required only if human subjects involved)
e.    Letter of endorsement by faculty advisor (resident applicants), Dean or President/Director of the school/ college (optional).

Applications will receive a confirmation receipt by e-mail from the Foundation within 1-3 business days of the submission.  If you do not receive a confirmation, contact the AOF office to ensure the application is received.

Deadline

The 2013 deadline for applications is August 16th.

Review Procedures

Applications will be reviewed by the BSK Board of Regents, the BSK Central World Council, both in collaboration with the AOF.

Award Conditions

Funds support research conducted for a period up to one year. The AOF is a non-profit organization; our policy is not to cover any indirect costs associated with research grants or any other of our programs. This policy applies uniformly to all award recipients.

Recipients must submit a final report of their research findings no later than one year post award. The preferred submission is an article in a form suitable for publication.

Recipients are encouraged to present at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry and to submit a manuscript to Optometry and Vision Science. Any manuscript or publication material produced must acknowledge the American Optometric Foundation and Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society.

Recognition of Awardees

The recipients will be recognized at the American Optometric Foundation Celebration Luncheon during the American Academy of Optometry's Annual Meeting. This year to be held October 24-27th in Phoenix, AZ.

The awardees will be listed in the AOF Annual Report and announcements will be placed in the Academy newsletter and in Eye-Mail Monthly. Press Releases will be sent to all schools and colleges of optometry, optometric organizations, and the optometric press.

Submission of a proposal constitutes permission for BSK and/or AOF to use the applicant’s name and image in online and print materials.

For additional information about this award and the American Optometric Foundation, contact Tracy Kitts, Foundation Coordinator, at AOF@aaoptom.org or 321-710-3936.

J. Pat Cummings Fellowship

Originally this award was known as the ACUVUE® Eye Health Advisor Student Citizenship Scholarship. In 2009, following the tragic death of Dr. Cummings, VISTAKON®, a Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., and the AOF decided that the program should be renamed in his honor. This award is conferred annually to a second or third year optometry student at each of the North American Schools and colleges of optometry who best demonstrates the ideal eye care standards of practice. To qualify the recipient must demonstrate achievement in both academic performance and extra-curricular activities, along with other professional pursuits such as involvement with patients through internships, community service, and other volunteer activities.

Eligibility

Second or third year students attending a school or college of optometry in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are eligible.

Fellowship

A $1,000 fellowship toward academic expenses and personalized plaque, one for each recipient for a total of twenty-two awards.

Purpose

To recognize outstanding contributions of student clinicians who best exemplify ideal eye care standards of practice.
Selection

The appropriate award selection committee at each of the schools/colleges of optometry will select the one student who meets the eligibility requirements and best demonstrates the qualities detailed in the criteria.  AOF will not accept applications directly submitted by a student.  Interested students should relay their desire for consideration to the award chair or financial aid representative at their institution.

Criteria

To select the one student who meets the eligibility requirements and best demonstrates achievement in both academic performance and extra-curricular activites, along with other professional pursuits such as involvment with patients through internships, community service, and other volunteer activities.

Recipients will best exemplify ideal eye care standards of practice, including: (a) the importance of eye health; (b) proper contact lens wear and care; (c) community service and volunteerism.

Submission and Deadline

The 2013 deadline is October 4th.

Nominations must be sent by a representative from each institution, electronically via e-mail and include the subject line "Cummings Fellowship" to: AOF@aaoptom.org .

For additional questions or information, contact Tracy Kitts, Foundation Coordinator, at 321-710-3936 or AOF@aaoptom.org

Vistakon Research Grant

To encourage talented persons to pursue full-time careers in optometry, the American Optometric Foundation (AOF) is now accepting proposals for one research grant sponsored by VISTAKON®, and The Vision Care Institute,LLC., both a Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. The AOF, in conjunction with the American Academy of Optometry Research Committee, will award the competitive grant to fund basic or clinical research in the area of soft contact lenses.

Award and Eligibility

The award is open to all persons in Optometry and Vision Science. One 1-year award of $25,000 will be offered for 2013.

All funds, as per policy of the American Academy of Optometry and the American Optometric Foundation will be issued in U.S. currency to the primary institution of record.

Funds support research conducted for a period of one year in the area of soft contact lens research. Recipient must submit a minimum 500 word report of their research findings to the AOF at the end of the award period in order to be eligible for subsequent awards.

In 2012 the winner(s) were chosen from a pool of 18 applicants.

Application Deadline

The application deadline is Friday, July 19, 2013.

Application and Review Procedures

Each proposal must be submitted electronically and contain the following components:

Cover page; project title, institution and address, name (including degree(s)) and titles for Principle Investigator (and one, Co-Investigator) with contact information.

Introduction; background and significance; specific aims; preliminary studies; and study design and methods. This section should total no more than 5 pages.

References (maximum of 1 page)

Budget and budget justification (maximum of 1 page) *NOTE: It is the policy of the Foundation not to cover indirect cost.

Biographical sketch(es) of Principal and one co-investigator only (maximum of 2 pages for each investigator) that must include:

Full contact information

Education/training; research and professional experience; honors and awards

Publications (refereed) for the last three years and best representative earlier publications (max. of 3)

Signed letter of Assurance (one page) by Department Chair (or Signatory Official) indicating the proposal has been reviewed and meets with the standards of the institution and if warranted observes all rules and regulations regarding compliance with reserach on human subjects.

APPLICATIONS THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THIS OUTLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED

Proposals are reviewed by a peer review committee established by the American Academy of Optometry's Research Committee and approved by the AOF Board of Directors.

The award recipient will be contacted and regret notices issued early in the Fall of 2013.
Application Submission

All proposals must be submitted by email to: AOF@aaoptom.org and contain in the subject title: Research Grant + Primary Investigator Last Name.

Applicants will receive a confirmation receipt by email from the Foundation within 1 -3  business days after submission.  Files exceeding 10 MB must be broken into separate smaller units to allow passage through internet security measures.

Costs

The AOF is a non-profit organization and our policy is not to cover any indirect costs associated with the Vistakon Research Grant  or any other of our programs. This policy applies uniformly to all award recipients.

Award Conditions

The award recipient and an institution representative will be invited to attend Academy 2013 Seattle; where on Saturday, October 26th, at the AOF Celebration Luncheon, the recipient will receive recognition and a commemorative plaque.

Any manuscript or publication material produced must acknowlege the American Optometric Foundation and VISTAKON®, and The Vision Care Institute,LLC., both a Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

Recipients are encouraged to submit a manuscript to Optometry and Vision Science.

All award recipients by application and acceptance of an award agree to allow the AOF and/or the sponsor of the program to which they applied to publish their  name, image, institution information, and any statement or quote provided by the recipient. These may appear in a variety of media formats that will announce and promote the program including, but not limited to, the AOF and/or sponsor annual report, website, annual meeting promotional materials.

For additional information contact:

Tracy Kitts, Foundation Coordinator, at: 321-710-3936 or AOF@aaoptom.org