Pilot Research Grants (EBAA)

Pilot Research Grants (EBAA) is sponsored by Eye Bank Association of America. The Pilot Research Grant funds early-stage research, short-term protocols or pilot projects in the fields of eye banking and corneal transplantation.

Pilot Research Grant - EBAA Skip to primary navigation Grants & Scholarships Eye Banking Research Grant Opportunities EBAA Research Grant: Presentation and Publications EBAA High Impact Research Grant Corza Medical Scholarship Mary Jane O’Neill Fellowship APABO TES Scholarship Pilot Research Grant Tips for Research Grant Proposals Research Proposal Form Each year, the EBAA awards the Pilot Research Grants to fund proposals specifically concerned with issues directly related to eye banking and/or corneal transplantation.

Preference is given to pilot projects, well-defined short-term protocols, and initial studies directed toward new research initiatives. Multiple grants of $7,500 each will be awarded. The recipients are selected during the Annual Meeting in June and the grants are awarded in July.

Maximum of $7,500 per proposal (Multiple proposals will be funded.)

Physicians, including corneal surgeons, and other eye care specialists Basic scientists, including biomedical and social scientists Eye-bank technicians, nurses, post-graduate fellows, ophthalmology residents, and medical students who are supervised by a physician or basic scientist associated with an eye bank or academic institution The application deadline is March 2, 2026.

Grant Recipient Resources Recipients of the Pilot Research Grant must complete required reports throughout the award term. The forms are located on the Pilot Research Grant Resource Center.

Grant Resources & Report Forms Lauren Berry, BS, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Enhancing Synthetic Corneal Grafts by Optimizing Intercellular Junction Integrity Clemence Bonnet, MD, PhD, Stein Eye Institute, UCLA Effects of Autocrine Wnt Signaling Activation on Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency Experimental Model Pauline Dmitriev, MD, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Effect of ROCK Inhibitor Supplementation of Corneal Storage Solution on Corneal Endothelial Cells and Graft Survival Hirotsugu Kasamatsu, MD, University of South Florida The Efficacy of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Derived Secretome in Improving Allograft Survival in a Murine Model of Corneal Transplantation Seokjoo Lee, PhD, Schepens Eye Research Institute/ Massachusetts Eye and Ear Identification of a Protein Candidate Responsible for Maintaining Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Accumulation in Corneal Transplant Allograft Acceptance Through Proteomic Analysis of Serum Extracellular Vesicles Kanwal Matharu, MD, University of Iowa Understanding Antimycotics for Fungal Keratitis to Increase Sight Restoration Siddharth Nath, MD, PhD, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University Development and Validation of a Computer Vision Model to Detect Donor Tissue at Risk for Khoa Tran, PhD, VisionGift RNA-Seq Based Transcriptional Analysis of the Corneal Endothelium During Extended EBAA Members: Get exclusive discounts and offers on products and services with the NEW Preferred Partner Program!

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