Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. Names Brian Hofland as President

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has named Brian F. Hofland, Ph.D. as the sixth president in its 52-year history.

2013-01-09

NEW YORK, NY, January 09, 2013 (Press-News.org) Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. (RPB) has named Brian F. Hofland, Ph.D. as the sixth president in its 52-year history. RPB is the leading nonprofit source of research grants targeting the elimination of all blinding conditions and the restoration of sight.

Hofland most recently served as vice president of Strategic Collaboration at the National Council on Aging, one of the nation's largest service and advocacy organizations working to improve the lives of older adults. In addition, he has held senior management positions at the AARP Foundation (Washington, DC), The Atlantic Philanthropies (NY, NY) and The Retirement Research Foundation (Chicago).

"Brian has built an extensive career as an advocate for vulnerable, aging individuals and communities," said Diane S. Swift, Chair, RPB. "His work in identifying and addressing key issues confronting the elderly makes him a natural fit for RPB, particularly as the prevalence of disabling vision disorders continues to climb worldwide, driven by a growing, aging population."

"Throughout my career, my personal and professional passions have focused on helping create positive and lasting change for significant numbers of older people, in the U.S. and abroad," Hofland explained. "In my new role at RPB, I am privileged to work with a dedicated Board of Directors and talented staff to pursue RPB's long-term mission and its commitment to improving quality of life through support to the scientific community addressing vision impairment and loss."

Hofland is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and is the founding chairman of Grantmakers In Aging, Inc., an inclusive and responsive membership organization including all types of philanthropies with a common dedication to improve the experience of aging. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Health and Human Development from The Pennsylvania State University and an undergraduate degree from The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions throughout the United States for research into the causes, treatment and prevention of all blinding diseases. RPB initiated the movement that led to the creation of the National Eye Institute and organized capitol campaigns to build major vision research laboratories across the United States. Its unrestricted grants are used to launch new research projects and to expand promising investigations. As a result, RPB has been identified with nearly every major development in eye research. For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to www.rpbusa.org.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

What Is The Key To Successful Leadership In 2013?

2013-01-09

Are you a business leader? A community leader? A civic leader? Or a spiritual leader? If so, are you emotionally intelligent? Emotional intelligence affects the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of our lives and leads to an emotionally healthy person and successful leader! In Emotional Intelligence and the Church (Bridge Logos Winter 2013) by Rupert Hayles, Jr., readers are offered a pathway to improve their emotional well-being and to embrace their overall spiritual development. "As we learn to appreciate the differences among people and understand how ...

Fishing for Findings in Space Station Bone Health Study

2013-01-09

For centuries, people have gazed at the constellation Pisces and imagined starry fish swimming in space. Aboard the International Space Station, however, astronauts have a much closer view of real finned friends, thanks to the Medaka Osteoclast investigation. Sponsored by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the study will help scientists uncover new knowledge about human bone health in space and on Earth. Living in the Aquatic Habitat, the Medaka (Oryzias latipes) fish serve as a model for researching the impact of microgravity environments on osteoclasts ...

Van's Natural Foods Moves into Grocery Aisles with Certified Gluten-Free Cereals, Crackers and Snack Bars

2013-01-09

Van's Natural Foods, the market leader in delicious, better-for-you frozen breakfast foods, brings its healthy eating approach to grocery store shelves with a new line of cereals, crackers and snack bars. Rich in whole grains, including millet, quinoa and amaranth, the new items provide families with great-tasting, nutritious options for breakfast, snacking and meals on the run. All of Van's cereals, crackers and snack bars are certified gluten free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, offering easy, nutritious choices with great taste the whole family can ...

Bruegger's Bagels Celebrates 30 Years of Fresh-Baked Bagels

2013-01-09

Bruegger's Bagels celebrates 30 years of serving up its fresh-baked, New York-style bagels by adding new flavors to its lineup of nearly 20 bagel varieties and by inviting its Facebook fans to bring back some retired favorites. For those who crave something new, Bruegger's Bagels' latest flavor - the Five Grain Everything Bagel - will appear in bakeries starting today through May 7. Nostalgic bagel lovers can visit the Bruegger's Bagels Facebook page for a chance to bring back a flavor blast from the past. Old-time favorites like Trail Mix, Cranberry Orange, Marble ...

Heat-resistant corals provide clues to climate change survival

2013-01-08

In a future shaped by climate change, only the strong – or heat-resistant – will survive. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences opens a window into a genetic process that allows some corals to withstand unusually high temperatures and may hold a key to species survival for organisms around the world. "If we can find populations most likely to resist climate change and map them, then we can protect them," said study co-author Stephen Palumbi, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and director of Stanford's ...

Cheap and easy technique to snip DNA could revolutionize gene therapy

2013-01-08

A simple, precise and inexpensive method for cutting DNA to insert genes into human cells could transform genetic medicine, making routine what now are expensive, complicated and rare procedures for replacing defective genes in order to fix genetic disease or even cure AIDS. Discovered last year by Jennifer Doudna and Martin Jinek of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine-Sweden, the technique was labeled a "tour de force" in a 2012 review in the journal ...

Space-simulation study reveals sodium rhythms in the body

2013-01-08

Maintaining the right sodium levels in the body is crucial for controlling blood pressure and ensuring proper muscle function. Conventional wisdom has suggested that constant sodium levels are achieved through the balance of sodium intake and urinary excretion, but a new study in humans published by Cell Press on January 9th in the journal Cell Metabolism reveals that sodium levels actually fluctuate rhythmically over the course of weeks, independent of salt intake. This one-of-a-kind study, which examined cosmonauts participating in space-flight simulation studies, challenges ...

Most physicians do not meet Medicare quality reporting requirements

2013-01-08

Washington, DC – A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study shows that fewer than one-in-five healthcare providers meet Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) requirements. Those that meet PQRS thresholds now receive a .5 percent Medicare bonus payment. In 2015, bonuses will be replaced by penalties for providers who do not meet PQRS requirements. As it stands, more than 80 percent of providers nationwide would face these penalties. Researchers analyzed 2007-2010 PQRS program data and found that nearly 24 percent of eligible radiologists qualified ...

Genes and obesity: Fast food isn't only culprit in expanding waistlines -- DNA is also to blame

2013-01-08

Researchers at UCLA say it's not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter — it's also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat responses to a typical fast-food diet are determined in large part by genetic factors, and they have identified several genes they say may control those responses. The study is the first of its kind to detail metabolic responses to a high-fat, high-sugar diet in a large and diverse mouse population under defined environmental conditions, modeling closely what is likely to occur in human populations. The researchers ...

Brief class on easy-to-miss precancerous polyps ups detection, Mayo study shows

2013-01-08

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Most people know a colonoscopy requires some preparation by the patient. Now, a Mayo Clinic physician suggests an additional step to lower the risk of colorectal cancer: Ask for your doctor's success rate detecting easy-to-miss polyps called adenomas. The measure of success is called the adenoma detection rate, or ADR, and has been linked to a reduced risk of developing a new cancer after the colonoscopy. The current recommended national benchmark is at least 20 percent, which means that an endoscopist should be able to detect adenomas in at least ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Father’s mental health can impact children for years

Scientists can tell healthy and cancerous cells apart by how they move

Male athletes need higher BMI to define overweight or obesity

How thoughts influence what the eyes see

Unlocking the genetic basis of adaptive evolution: study reveals complex chromosomal rearrangements in a stick insect

Research Spotlight: Using artificial intelligence to reveal the neural dynamics of human conversation

Could opioid laws help curb domestic violence? New USF research says yes

NPS Applied Math Professor Wei Kang named 2025 SIAM Fellow

Scientists identify agent of transformation in protein blobs that morph from liquid to solid

Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss

Research identifies key enzyme target to fight deadly brain cancers

New study unveils volcanic history and clues to ancient life on Mars

Monell Center study identifies GLP-1 therapies as a possible treatment for rare genetic disorder Bardet-Biedl syndrome

Scientists probe the mystery of Titan’s missing deltas

Q&A: What makes an ‘accidental dictator’ in the workplace?

Lehigh University water scientist Arup K. SenGupta honored with ASCE Freese Award and Lecture

Study highlights gaps in firearm suicide prevention among women

People with medical debt five times more likely to not receive mental health care treatment

Hydronidone for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with chronic hepatitis B

Rise in claim denial rates for cancer-related advanced genetic testing

Legalizing youth-friendly cannabis edibles and extracts and adolescent cannabis use

Medical debt and forgone mental health care due to cost among adults

Colder temperatures increase gastroenteritis risk in Rohingya refugee camps

Acyclovir-induced nephrotoxicity: Protective potential of N-acetylcysteine

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury