Rise Up for Research
When we Rise Up For Research, breakthroughs happen.
The scientific community needs champions now more than ever.
Recent uncertainty around federal research funding has put science in the spotlight, revealing how fragile scientific innovation and progress can be without sustained support.
Researchers are working tirelessly to defeat diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. They need defenders—people who will stand up with them when funding is uncertain and celebrate with them when breakthroughs happen.
By supporting scientists at the beginning of their journey, we:
- Introduce new perspectives to solve longstanding challenges.
- Champion bold ideas that other funders won’t.
- Spark progress that attracts larger follow-on funding.
- Nurture the next generation of research leaders.
Why BrightFocus Funding Matters
Why BrightFocus Funding Matters
For more than 50 years, BrightFocus Foundation and its programs—Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Macular Degeneration Research, and National Glaucoma Research—has catalyzed scientific breakthroughs that have led to novel treatments, prevention strategies, and diagnostic tools for diseases of mind and sight.
Most of our grants support early-stage research, ensuring fresh perspectives are brought to the forefront and offering an increased return on research investment over time through novel discoveries that fuel the field.
Explore Breakthrough Research
Explore Breakthrough Research
Breaking News Dispatch: Alzheimer’s Oral Therapies, Prevention Strategies, and Targeted Treatments Emerge
Get the latest research news from the 2026 International Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and Related Neurological Disorders (AD/PD) conference.
Focusing on the Future: Key Takeaways from the 2025 Glaucoma Fast Track
BrightFocus Foundation’s 2025 Glaucoma Fast Track brought together early-career and established scientists to provide a thorough overview of the biology, diagnosis, and treatment of glaucoma.
Shaping the Future of Macular Degeneration Research: Key Takeaways from the 2025 AMD Fast Track Workshop
BrightFocus Foundation’s 2025 Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Fast Track brought together early-career and established scientists to accelerate research toward a cure for AMD.
How Understanding Lipid Processing in the Eye Could Spark Innovative AMD Treatment Approaches
With the help of funding from Macular Degeneration Research, Dr. Neetu Kushwah is studying the link between abnormal lipid regulation in the eye, inflammation, and age-related macular degeneration. Her findings could inspire new methods for treating the disease.
Can Targeting the Immune System Slow the Progression of Alzheimer’s?
BrightFocus Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant recipient Joshua Emmerson, PhD, is exploring a certain type of immune cell’s unexpected role in Alzheimer’s disease—and what it could mean for protecting the brain.
How Early Research Funding Is Transforming Glaucoma Detection
If you’ve been diagnosed with glaucoma in the past 15 years, you have likely unknowingly witnessed what early research funding can do for the 4 million Americans living with this sight-stealing disease.
Early Research Funding Is Essential to Saving Sight From Macular Degeneration
Medicine’s biggest breakthroughs often start out as the smallest of ideas. BrightFocus Foundation’s Macular Degeneration Research supports bold, early-stage science across a wide range of approaches.
Unlocking the Brain’s Regenerative Potential to Fight Alzheimer’s
María Llorens-Martín is investigating why the brain stops making new cells in Alzheimer’s—and how fixing that process could change lives.
Breaking News Dispatch: New Findings on GLP-1 Drugs and Alzheimer’s, Novel Treatments in Development, and More
Get the latest news from the 2025 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference.