Dr. David Ramirez from Northwestern University Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Anisometropic Refractive Amblyopia Research

Dr. David Ramirez from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, located in Chicago, Illinois was awarded a $90,000 grant for the research entitled: The socioeconomic impact on treatment of anisometropic, refractive amblyopia.

Amblyopia is a condition where visual development during infancy and childhood is interrupted such that without intervention it can lead to permanent vision loss. This condition affects 2-4% of all children. Recent studies have found that race, insurance type, and economic background are associated with worse outcomes even with standard treatments. Dr. Ramirez aims to investigate the socioeconomic factors that put children at risk for worse outcomes by expanding our understanding of the whole patient. He will evaluate how a patient’s home residence and community impact visual outcomes.

Through this work a risk calculator will be developed in order to identify which children and communities are most at risk for vision loss from amblyopia. He aims to deploy new interventions and strategies in order to improve outcomes of amblyopia in high-risk patients.