BUSNA Represented at Fight for Sight Gala
On Sunday, October 24th, President Christine Griffith and Assistant Treasurer Andrea Munk had the distinct pleasure of representing Birdshot Uveitis Society of North America at Fight For Sight’s Lights Back On Gala. A designated anonymous donation from a BUSNA supporter enabled them to attend the annual event, which took place at City Winery in New York City.
Fight for Sight has been funding medical research in vision and ophthalmology for over
seventy-five years. BUSNA recently announced a partnership with this New York City-based nonprofit, helping fund one of their Student Fellowship research projects in 2023. The fellowship will focus on Birdshot/posterior uveitis.
This year’s gala celebrated six distinguished colleagues who have made a significant contribution to the eye and vision research field:
Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA, Vision Research Partner Award
Curtis R. Brandt, PhD, Scientist Research Partners Award
Linda McLoon, PhD, Scientist Research Partners Award
Gail Seigel, PhD, Scientist Research Partners Award
Gaby Kressly, in Memoriam, Vision Volunteer Award, Former FFS Secretary and Treasurer
Danny Burstein, Superstar Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Tony Award Winner
Christine and Andrea thoroughly enjoyed discussing Birdshot and uveitis with several of the honorees, including Curtis Brandt, PhD, professor and Vice Chair of Research at the University of Wisconsin Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Medical Microbiology and Immunology. He and his colleague Linda McLoon, PhD, a tenured Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, agreed that more funding and research are needed in order to find a cause and treatment for uveitis. Part of the problem with uveitis is that not all patients can be treated the same.
Christine and Andrea also had the pleasure of meeting Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA, FASRS, the CEO of the Retina Center of Ohio and volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami. He is President/CEO/Executive Producer of Future Vision Foundation, whose mission celebrates breakthrough vision research through powerful documentaries of discord, impact and hope. Dr. Huang has a passion for both vision and photography.
Those attending were entertained by Alexandra Silber, an actor, singer and author who, among other roles, performed in the role of Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. She hypnotized the audience with three Broadway songs and paid tribute to Danny Burnstein, one of the evening's honorees.
Readers and researchers are invited to visit Fight for Sight for more information about this program. Grant applications are due February 15, 2023.
BUSNA congratulates Fight For Sight on the success of their recent Lights Back On Gala!
We thank Fight for Sight and the many researchers who are searching for cures for blinding eye conditions. We also thank our BUSNA supporters whose contributions are making this and other ophthalmology research partnerships possible. Together, we aim for clearer vision!
Special thanks to Andrea Munk for her assistance in writing this blog post.