FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

 

 

Tonia S. Rex, PhD, Assistant Professor at

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Awarded $200,000 Grant from Research to Prevent Blindness

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            Memphis, Tenn. (March 24, 2011) – Tonia S. Rex, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has been named the recipient of the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Career Development Award, a $200,000 grant.  Dr. Rex serves as an assistant professor in two UTHSC departments – a primary appointment in Ophthalmology, which is organized under the auspices of the UT Hamilton Eye Institute, and a secondary appointment in Anatomy and Neurobiology.  She will continue to pursue her academic and scientific responsibilities in both departments.

The grant will be used to help equip Dr. Rex’s laboratory and finance her research efforts.  The term of the grant runs through 2014.

The RPB Career Development Award Fund was established in 1990 to attract young physicians and basic scientists to eye research.  To date, the program has recruited 152 vision scientists to research positions in departments of ophthalmology at universities across the country.

“Dr. Rex is a talented research scientist and clinician who is very deserving of this award,” said Barrett G. Haik, Hamilton Professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and director of the Hamilton Eye Institute (HEI).  “We are grateful to Research to Prevent Blindness for their long-standing commitment to support sight-saving research.”   

Founded in 2004, HEI consistently ranks among the top 10 providers of ophthalmic clinical care across the country.  Its mission is to prevent blindness through patient care, research and education.  As a premier eye center providing an advanced level of vision care, the institute’s team manages more than 40,000 outpatient visits annually.  HEI is the only university eye center providing an advanced level of vision care within a 200-mile radius of Memphis.

About Research to Prevent Blindness

RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research.  Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions for research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding eye diseases.  For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to www.rpbusa.org.

About the University of Tennessee Health Science Center

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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