Major Initiatives

We measure the progress and success of the UC Davis Health System Eye Center by standards of excellence for patient care, cutting-edge research and international-level training. The best measure of the eye center's future promise is in its extraordinary human capital — its doctors, nurses, and researchers, as well as its passionate leadership.

We are inspired by collaboration, and we invite you to join us as we embark on the most ambitious and important period in the history of ophthalmology at UC Davis Health System initiatives critical to fulfilling our mission to preserve and restore sight include:

The UC Davis Health System Eye Center Building Project:

The remarkable growth of the UC Davis Health System Department of Ophthalmology and Vision science in the past several years has precipitated a thorough re-evaluation of institutional goals and structures. A new UC Davis Health System Eye Center building is required in order to satisfy demand for clinic and, most particularly, research space.

Current Research:

Efforts in the department focus on three distinct areas: 1) macular degeneration: prevention and treatment, 2) glaucoma: new diagnostic and therapeutic initiatives, and 3) corneal disease: new approaches to cornea transplant and wound repair.

New Initiatives Maintaining its commitment to advancing the cause of blindness prevention, the department is creating new programs: 1) stem cell initiatives in corneal diseases and the treatment of macular and other retinal degenerations, 2) a congenital eye disease center, inaugurated in 2008, called the UC Davis Center Health System for Children’s Sight, for the management of serious vision problems in children, and 3) a Diagnostic Imaging Center for the diagnosis and management of retinal diseases and visual loss from glaucoma and other optic neuropathies, and 4) nanotechnology for the treatment of glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Funding for Research

While the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science funding for research from the National Eye Institute and Research to Prevent Blindness has grown dramatically in recent years, the time is coming when truly great leaps in knowledge and information will occur only with private funding. The department’s research agenda will depend more and more on the generosity of individual, foundation and corporate donors whose experience and commitment will inform their philanthropic choices.

You can be assured that your financial investment in support of these initiatives will produce life-altering dividends paid in the form of innovative therapies and compassionate patient care.

If you have questions, please contact Ernie Phinney, Development Officer, at (916) 734-8758 or by email at ephinney@ucdavis.edu.

UC Davis Health System is recognized as a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. Your gift to the UC Davis Health System Cancer Center qualifies as a charitable deduction for federal tax purposes as permitted by law.