"The Catalyst For a Cure project is unprecedented in the field of medical research. It provides research funding to young, bright scientific minds based solely on their desire and ability to apply their scientific skills to the study of a specific disorder with which they were previously unfamiliar – in this case, glaucoma.”

- Dr. Martin Wax,
a glaucoma specialist and Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
Venture Philanthropy Meets Scientific Research

This past year, we implemented a medical research initiative model that requires collaboration and new research approaches to a specific disease or medical issue. Consistent with the entrepreneurial nature of the Foundation, we initially identified diseases and research fields that were stymied, and where a well-timed, innovative approach might lead to a major breakthrough. We began our first initiative, Catalyst For a Cure (CFC), in late 2001. It targets glaucoma over a three-year period and has been launched in partnership with the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

Estimates put the total number of suspected cases of glaucoma at around 65 million worldwide. It is a disease that can lead to blindness, especially if not diagnosed early and treated on a continuing basis. The goal of CFC is to enable significant progress in finding the causes that result in the onset of glaucoma.

Four scientists, who are working on cutting-edge medical research but not focused on eye diseases, form the core of CFC. The technical skills, scientific knowledge, and professional perspective that each of them brings to the joint research effort is critical. It encourages them to think in ways that, as individuals, they may not.

This foursome, aided by a Scientific Advisory Group, will use recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, molecular biology, genetics and immunology to form the backbone of their work. In fact, it was as a group, during a two-day inaugural meeting, that they identified the research questions they planned to address. Catalyst For a Cure is, therefore, a synergistic enterprise, with each scientist developing ideas, facilitating the others’ work, and supporting the others’ efforts – all while directed to a common goal that they defined.

Through combining financial and staffing resources, the Kirsch Foundation and the Glaucoma Research Foundation are maximizing the return on our respective investments. We anticipate that the scientists engaged in this work will build bridges among medical research fields that are subject to isolation, thus leading to generally applicable breakthroughs that will advance medical research as a whole.