Research to Prevent Blindness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting eye research, has presented the David F. Weeks Award for Outstanding Vision Research to Maria Grant, the Eivor and Alston Callahan, M.D. Endowed Chair in the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The award recognizes outstanding vision researchers whose work has advanced the understanding and treatment of potentially blinding eye diseases.
Dr. Grant’s laboratory aims to create novel therapeutic methods to address a wide range of retinal disorders. She conducts extensive research on understanding the functional process of hematopoietic stem cells and how to best utilize human embryonic stem cells for vascular repair.
A UAB faculty member since 2017, Dr. Grant previously served as the Marilyn Glick Professor of Ophthalmology at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at Indiana University. She holds a bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Florida.