Community Stories & Education
Life Through a Different Lens: They Just Talked About Eyes!
Christine and Anthony Gonzales dreamed of having a large family and were thrilled when their first child, Iliana, was born in August 2018. However, within a few months, their excitement turned to concern. “About a week after Iliana received her…
Most Recent
Hope in Focus Joins the Branford Lions Club for Rare Eye Disease Awareness, Advocacy and Action
On October 7, Hope in Focus joined the Branford Lions Club at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, for “Rare Eye…
Going Toward the Light: Nobel Prize Winners Discovered Optogenetics for Restoring Vision
Hope in Focus is delighted with the announcement that the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 has been awarded…
Leaving a Legacy of Hope
Why consider a legacy gift For many people, charitable giving is something they do throughout their lives. Legacy giving offers…
Navigating Life: Thriving in a Visually Designed World
As someone with a visual impairment, getting around once felt overwhelming. I was plagued by the “what ifs.” What if…
Gaming Through Adversity: Ashley Hunter’s Story
Growing up means encountering everything for the first time. Adolescents and young adults move through life much like advancing through…
Opus Genetics in Alignment with FDA for Phase 3 LCA5 Gene Therapy Clinical Trial
Opus Genetics has reached alignment with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Phase 3 clinical trial design…
Report from 2026 ARVO: Several Emerging LCA Gene Therapies are Restoring Vision
In reporting on emerging therapies for LCA and other retinal diseases, my mantra has always been “just the facts.” If…
Hope in Focus Strengthens Advocacy Through PPALS Training
On May 4-7, Hope in Focus Marketing and Community Engagement Manager, Eve Orcutt, participated in the Professional Patient Advocates in…
LCA5 Gene Therapy Development Could be Accelerated Thanks to New FDA Rare Disease Review Process
Opus Genetics’ emerging LCA5 gene therapy, OPGx-LCA5, has been accepted into the US Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) new Rare…
LCA Research Updates from FFB
BlueRock Photoreceptor Replacement Therapy Moving into a Clinical Trial
The development of gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) took off when young adults and children showed significant vision improvements in an early clinical trial.
Foundation Fighting Blindness and CheckedUp® Partner to Educate Retinal-Disease Patients About Research, Resources, and Emerging Therapies During Doctor Visits
The Foundation Fighting Blindness (the Foundation) and CheckedUp have formed a collaborative partnership to deliver patient-friendly diagnostic and disease-management information to people with retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and Stargardt disease during their visits to eye doctors.
A Retinal Research Nonprofit Paves the Way for Commercializing Gene Therapies
AN EMERGING, vision-restoring gene therapy for a devastating retinal disease is poised for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. If it gets the regulatory nod, it will be the first gene therapy to receive FDA approval for the eye or an inherited condition.