Feb. 6, 2012 – Seeking to expand its outreach and raise awareness about retinal diseases, today the Foundation Fighting Blindness pulled back the curtain on its official blog, Eye on the Cure. Authored by Dr. Stephen Rose, the Foundation’s chief research officer, the blog will offer readers an insider’s perspective on breaking news, research developments, the challenges of living with low vision and the Foundation’s investments in potential treatments and cures.
“The Foundation’s website and its newsletter, In Focus, already do a great job of informing our members about research,” says Bill Schmidt, CEO of the Foundation. “But with Eye on the Cure, which has the internet and social media as its platform, we hope to reach an even broader audience – those who maybe haven’t heard of the Foundation and those with an inherent interest in science and bettering the lives of people with disabilities.”
Dr. Rose, he adds, is the perfect blogger for the job because “he’s not only a world-renowned expert; he has a knack for turning complicated scientific concepts into digestible, and useful, bits of information.”
As Dr. Rose states in his inaugural post, Eye on the Cure will cover a variety of subjects in formats appropriate to the content. This week, for instance, he’ll address the five most-asked questions about clinical trials in a Q&A and use videos to help explain what’s known as the “bionic retina” and a cutting-edge gene therapy called “optogenetics.” He’ll also recount a trip he took this past weekend, to Boca Raton, Florida, where he shared the latest in retinal research with an audience of 600 during one of the Foundation’s Vision Seminars.
Future business-trip posts will be delivered from locales as disparate as Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Dr. Rose will attend VISIONS 2012, the Foundation’s national conference, in late June. Otherwise, his posts will provide commentary on trends and breaking news, in language lay readers can understand and the science-savvy appreciate. He’ll also address comments and questions submitted by readers, some of them in a video format from his office at the Foundation.
While the Foundation – begun in 1971, when very little was known about retinal diseases – is a leader in the retinal-research field, it is not the only player. Eye on the Cure will, thus, connect readers to other bloggers, websites and organizations considered allies in the fight against blindness.
“Launching Eye on the Cure it truly exciting, because, with the recent uptick in clinical trials for treatments and cures, there’s so much information to share,” says Dr. Rose. “Plus, the blog builds on the solid internet presence we already have – on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube – allowing us to serve as a hub, if you will, for retinal-disease resources and information. I look forward keeping everyone updated.” |
