# Building Non-Communicable Eye Disease Research Capacity in India

> **NIH NIH D43** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $223,594

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
India is home to over 17% of the world’s population and to 25% of those who are blind or visually impaired
worldwide. Blindness and vision impairment are the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability in India
and are the number one cause in those age 70 and older, a segment of the Indian population that is rapidly
growing. Over 90% of vision loss in India is due to non-communicable disease, the majority of which is
avoidable. Poor vision is associated with wide-reaching consequences, including an increased risk of falls,
dementia, depression, disability, loss of independence, longer and more frequent hospitalizations, and
increased mortality. Despite the large and growing burden of non-communicable eye disease, particularly
among older adults, the shortage of research expertise in India to characterize the epidemic and understand its
causes and consequences is a critical barrier to intervening effectively and reducing its population health
impact. Therefore, the focus of this training program is on building clinical-epidemiological research capacity,
with an emphasis on lifecourse analyses applied to the study of non-communicable eye disease (NCED) in
older adults. Given the aging of the Indian population and the disproportionate impact of NCED on older
Indians, it is critical to train Indian vision researchers in the research principles and methods that will enable
them to effectively address this critical need. Moreover, we currently lack knowledge from a lifecourse
perspective to understand the effects of early- and mid-life exposures on late-life vision and vision-related
disability in India. Research specific to the Indian context is vital to determine key risk factors and disability
consequences of NCED, and to develop effective contextualized interventions. The proposed research
capacity building program will draw upon the exceptional institutional environments at the Aravind Eye Care
System (AECS) in India and at the University of Michigan (UM), including the NIH-funded UM Claude D.
Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and Clinical and Translational Science Award. The UM and
AECS have a long-standing history of collaboration and educational exchanges. Based on the results of a
needs assessment survey, doctoral- and masters-level training tracks have been designed to meet the needs
of early- and mid-career AECS faculty who aspire to careers in clinical-epidemiological research. The aims of
this program include: 1) to provide comprehensive graduate-level training in the conduct of clinical and
epidemiologic research for trainees from AECS who will be equipped to take a leading role in NCED and
sensory aging research in India; 2) to develop the mentoring and research education skills of AECS faculty;
and 3) to establish research training opportunities at AECS that are offered to a broad regional audience. All
training activities will be transitioned to AECS by the end of the 5-year grant period. Both partner institut...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10491736
- **Project number:** 5D43TW012027-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID C MUSCH
- **Activity code:** D43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $223,594
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-20 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10491736

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10491736, Building Non-Communicable Eye Disease Research Capacity in India (5D43TW012027-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10491736. Licensed CC0.

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