Pioneer Research Award

The European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) announced today the opening of the 2024 call for applications for the Pioneer Research Awards (PRA). This initiative, sponsored by the society, aims to support and encourage independent clinical research in the field of cataract and refractive surgery.

The competition is open to ophthalmologists up to the age of 45. Eligible participants must hold a full-time clinical or research position at a clinical or academic centre within the European region. 

The purpose of the Pioneer Award is to:

• Support, encourage, and fund individuals interested in starting clinical research activities in the field of cataract and refractive surgery.
• Introduce and develop a body of clinical research work, addressing a challenging problem to devise a practical solution.
• Facilitate and support an independent culture of study for the ultimate benefit of patients.

The Pioneer Award aims to fund various new initiatives, which may include:

• A novel research idea for the development of clinical trial studies.
• A non-interventional or observational study.
• A natural history/epidemiological study.
• A comprehensive series of retrospective case-control studies.
• A patient or disease registry.

Successful applicants may receive up to €50,000 for a project with a duration of no longer than two years.

Conditions to Apply

The competition is open to young ophthalmologists up to the age of 45 who have been ESCRS members for at least one year and hold a full-time clinical or research position at a clinical or academic centre within the European region. An applicant to a PRA application requires clear reference to a current systematic review and meta-analysis, if available, published on the topic of which the applicant wishes to apply. The supervision of an established researcher is requested by ESCRS.

The call for applications is now open (from 30 August 2024) and any interested ophthalmologist has until 13:00 (CET) on 31 October 2024 to submit an application for the ESCRS Pioneer Research Awards. 

For further information, please contact: clinical.research@research.escrs.org

Application Form

Applications are now closed. Please complete the below application form and click "submit". You will be directed to a page that confirms your application - you will not receive an email confirmation of the application.