$90,000 KTEF Grant Supports University of Michigan’s Fengrong Wang, PhD, in Ocular Toxoplasmosis Research
$90,000 KTEF Grant Supports University of Michigan’s Fengrong Wang, PhD, in Ocular Toxoplasmosis Research

Dr. Wang is investigating Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can be acquired through contaminated food or exposure to contaminated soil or cat feces and can also be passed from mother to child during pregnancy. Her research focuses on how chronic cysts from the parasite form, persist, and reactivate in the eye, potentially leading to new treatments that prevent recurring eye damage and vision loss.

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Brandon Mullins
Record-Breaking Year for the Knights Templar Eye Foundation
Record-Breaking Year for the Knights Templar Eye Foundation

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation awarded a record number of fourteen Swords of Merit in FY 2025–2026. Each Sword of Merit is awarded for a donation totaling $25,000 or more, achieved either as a single gift or through the accumulation of twenty-five Grand Master Clubs. Additionally, during the same time frame, the Foundation awarded eleven Golden Chalices, each representing a single contribution of $10,000.

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Brandon Mullins
Manon Szczepan, PhD, from Harvard Medical School Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinopathy of Prematurity Research
Manon Szczepan, PhD, from Harvard Medical School Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinopathy of Prematurity Research

Dr. Szczepan will test this hypothesis using genetically modified mouse lines and disease models with two aims: (1) to determine whether glial c-Fos controls the development of abnormal retinal neovascularization in an ROP mouse model; and (2) to determine what controls glial activation and glia mediated-retinal inflammation during retinal neovascularization. Successful completion of the proposed research will strengthen her understanding of ROP disease and lead to new therapeutic strategies.

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Brandon Mullins
Jennifer Landau Rossen, MD, from Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Awarded $89,905 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Childhood Cataracts Research
Jennifer Landau Rossen, MD, from Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Awarded $89,905 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Childhood Cataracts Research

Dr. Rossen will complete gene-disease associations and variant curation guidelines for the thirteen Crystallin genes, which are associated with approximately half of all isolated pediatric cataracts, by standard methods and compare them to an accelerated Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported workflow that she will create. The AI-supported workflow, once validated, will be employed for other ocular gene curation work.

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Brandon Mullins
Aniket Ramshekar, MD, PhD, from Stanford Ophthalmology Advanced Research (SOAR) Residency Program Awarded a $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinopathy of Prematurity Research
Aniket Ramshekar, MD, PhD, from Stanford Ophthalmology Advanced Research (SOAR) Residency Program Awarded a $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinopathy of Prematurity Research

In this research project, Dr. Ramshekar, focuses on the role of VEGF signaling in the development of retinal ganglion cells – a specific type of retinal neuron. He predicts that VEGF signaling is needed not only for retinal blood vessel growth but also for retinal ganglion cell development in the retina. The data from this project will better define the role of VEGF signaling in the development of retinal neurons. This research has the potential to provide new insights into how doctors can better treat and prevent vision loss in children affected by ROP.

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Brandon Mullins
Jose Raul Perez-Estrada, PhD, from Miami Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for The Metabolic Paradigm in Eye Development and Regeneration
Jose Raul Perez-Estrada, PhD, from Miami Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for The Metabolic Paradigm in Eye Development and Regeneration

In Greek mythology, an example of regeneration is the Lernean Hydra, a giant water snake-like monster with nine heads, that regenerated each head when cut off. In recent times, the best example of a fictional regeneration figure is Wolverine, a superhero in X-Men comics. Wolverine’s superpower is not to control minds or the ability to shoot rays; his superpower is too simple: to be able to heal and regenerate fast. Thus, regeneration makes Hydra and Wolverine almost immortal beings that do not develop diseases. Newts are animals that, like Hydra, can form a new structure of the eye after being cut off and heal their eye after an injury, just like Wolverine does. Thus, by studying newts, Dr. Perez-Estrada could learn from their regenerative superpower and apply it to humans to cure diseases.

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Brandon Mullins
Jose Ronaldo Lima de Carvalho Jr., MD, from University of Pennsylvania Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Research Into Blinding Diseases Which Affect Children Under 10
Jose Ronaldo Lima de Carvalho Jr., MD, from University of Pennsylvania Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Research Into Blinding Diseases Which Affect Children Under 10

Autosomal dominant optic atrophy and cataracts (ADOAC) or 3-Methylglutaconic aciduria type III (MGA3), also knownas Costeff syndrome, are caused by mutations in the OPA3 gene. Affected patients present with an early onset complex blinding disease, typically before the age of five for MGA3 and around 10-year-old for ADOAC, characterized by optic atrophy along with other symptoms such as peripheral neuropathy, cognitive impairment, and dysmotility. There currently is no treatment for these devastating diseases. Lima de Carvalho’s long-term goal is to work on both gene therapy and drug screening to prevent blindness and reduce morbidity in affected infants.

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Brandon Mullins
Meha Kabra, PhD, from University of Wisconsin Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Congenital Stationary Night Blindness Treatment Research
Meha Kabra, PhD, from University of Wisconsin Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Congenital Stationary Night Blindness Treatment Research

Dr. Kabra’s approach will answer several important questions: 1) Can genome editors correct gene mutations precisely? 2) Does gene correction restore the channel function? 3) Is biallelic editing necessary for the channel function? 4) Can PRs be efficiently targeted intravitreally? 5) What would be the long-term off-target effect of CRISPR AAVs?

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Brandon Mullins
Children's Eye Foundation Transitions SIBA Program to Telemedicine Model to Create Self-Sustaining ROP Treatment Network in Africa
Children's Eye Foundation Transitions SIBA Program to Telemedicine Model to Create Self-Sustaining ROP Treatment Network in Africa

Every year, thousands of newborn babies in sub-Saharan Africa face preventable blindness from ROP, a condition that develops when premature infants receive unregulated oxygen in neonatal intensive care units. While developed countries have virtually eliminated ROP blindness through proper screening and treatment, many African nations lack the necessary infrastructure and trained personnel.

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Brandon Mullins