2017 Mission 2020
By Lawton Snyder, Executive Director
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e have ended fiscal year 2017 on a high note, with total support exceeding $5 million. We are grateful to all the donors for every dollar that has been contributed. We realize it is devastating to lose one’s sight or hearing. When one’s ability to communicate or maintain balance is compromised, it is overwhelming. Learning of the diagnosis of head and neck cancer is crushing. It is the mission of the Eye & Ear Foundation to advance the leadingedge academic and research efforts with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care within these areas. We know patient care and surgical intervention can improve with innovation. We also know that the individual needs should be considered when medicines are prescribed and when care is delivered. Your support will go a long way to make an impact on changing medicine for tomorrow.
Mission 2020 leaders include the Eye & Ear Foundation’s Board of Directors (listed on page 3). Pictured here are Board members: Jonas T. Johnson, Distinguished Service Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology; Albert C. Muse; Nancy L. Snyderman, MD; and George A. Fechter, Chairman of the Board.
Photo courtesy of the French Embassy, Washington, DC. Signatories of the agreement between Pitt and the French research institutions. (L to R) Dr. Sidney Wiener, Scientific Officer, International Affairs, CNRS; Dr. José-Alain Sahel, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Gérard Araud, ambassador of France to the United States; Dr. Jean Chambaz, President, University Pierre et Marie Curie of the Sorbonne Universités; Dr. Yves Levy, President and CEO of Inserm; Dr. Arthur Levine, Pitt’s Senior Vice Chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of Medicine. Over the next three years, the Eye & Ear Foundation will be very focused on a new campaign. Our campaign initiatives will leverage the strength of our science and collaborate with our partners to provide the world with new therapies and treatments. We envision a future where the development of technology can lead to less invasive surgeries and improvement in patient care, with personalized treatments providing less toxicity, allowing patients to enjoy an improved quality of life. Within the Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh, we are fortunate to have the strongest leadership and partnerships in the world to facilitate new discoveries in medicine. Pittsburgh has become an international hub for developing new technologies and driving innovation to improve patient care and surgery. The Eye & Ear Mission 2020 campaign will support several research initiatives
through the year 2020 to improve clinical outcomes and patient care, with emphasis on the importance of translation, innovation, and personalization. However, with government and corporate funding declining, paired with growing healthcare delivery costs, the need for philanthropic support is greater than ever. Our goal is to complete our fundraising and implement these programs by the beginning of the year 2020. This is the largest fundraising initiative in the Foundation’s history, but we know it can be achieved through shared commitment, generosity, and energy. To accomplish our goals, continued research is needed in the following areas: TRANSLATION: This represents the critically important “bench to bedside” ophthalmology and otolaryngology research. There is a major emphasis on using neuroscience to treat tinnitus or to restore vision and/or hearing through neural regeneration.
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