Supporting Innovation and Impact in Glaucoma Research

June Kinoshita’s decision to provide ongoing support to BrightFocus Foundation’s National Glaucoma Research program was inspired by respect born out of deep experience as an advisor and leader in the medical nonprofit field.

“Right from the beginning, I was very impressed,” June said of her introduction to BrightFocus in 2011. That’s when June was invited to join the organization’s board, where she ultimately served until 2020. “It was run by very knowledgeable people who had a vision of where they wanted to go and wanted to ensure the funds raised were invested in the best way possible,” she said.

A former science editor and journalist who developed a fascination with neuroscience, June switched careers when she was approached to help develop unique programs focused on Alzheimer’s disease. Along the way, she co-founded AlzForum, a nonprofit information and networking platform aimed at keeping Alzheimer’s and dementia researchers abreast of developments in the field. This formidable resume attracted the attention of BrightFocus Foundation’s Scientific Affairs team.

Early in her tenure as a board member, June decided to join the monthly gift sustainer program in support of National Glaucoma Research. Her own diagnosis with very mild glaucoma played a role in that choice, but not in the way one might expect. “I’m not motivated out of a sense of needing to cure myself, but it did raise my awareness of more severe forms of glaucoma and the urgency to do more for a condition that is underfunded,” she explained.

Another key factor in June’s decision? “Some of the studies being carried out were much bolder than most glaucoma research,” she said. While many studies focus on reducing ocular pressure, for example, National Glaucoma Research “[funded] research aimed at trying to slow down the degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells,” she said. (These cells form the optic nerve, the key structure threatened by glaucoma.)

June also admires the way BrightFocus fosters the development of early-career researchers across all three of its disease programs. “Basic researchers don’t always know there’s a whole art to coming up with a project that will attract grants and can be translated into the clinic,” she said. “BrightFocus’ Fast Track programs teach young scientists to do that, which is really impactful.”