Researchers may submit proposals for projects related to finding a cure for CHM by November 15, 2019

Springfield, MA., October 7, 2019

The Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) is honored to announce the creation of the annual Randy Wheelock Research Award in support of emerging scientists and research professionals working on Choroideremia (CHM) and other related rare disease and retinal issues. Eligible recipients will be either doctoral or post-doctoral candidates and professionals, and awards will be granted in the amount of $50,000.

Randy Wheelock, of Johnson City, TN, became actively involved with CRF in 2007, working tirelessly to learn all that he could about the retina and Choroideremia. He was a businessman who turned himself into a scientist and would not take “no” for an answer.  As CRF’s Chief Advisor for Research and Therapy Development, Randy was an integral part of the organization’s achievements over the years. He collaborated with researchers and other rare disease groups to leverage assets and scientific knowledge in search of treatment options and a cure for CHM.

Randy Wheelock unfortunately passed away this year, and the CRF believes in keeping his dream alive by initiating the Randy Wheelock Research Award, which will be offered annually via a competitive application process.

Individuals interested in applying for the 1st Annual CRF Randy Wheelock Research Award should submit a one page executive proposal, including a lay language summary of their project and a program budget, along with a resume/CV, to info@curechm-ca.mystagingwebsite.com by November 15, 2019.

About Choroideremia
Choroideremia (CHM) is a rare inherited form of blindness affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 people. Due to its x-linked inheritance pattern males are most severely affected with females usually experiencing much milder visual impairment. Symptoms begin in early childhood with night blindness and restriction of visual field being the earliest noticeable effects, eventually progressing to complete blindness. An estimated 6,000 people in the United States and 10,000 in the European Union are impacted by Choroideremia. There are currently no approved treatments for Choroideremia.

About the Choroideremia Research Foundation Inc.
The Choroideremia Research Foundation was founded in 2000 as an international fundraising and patient advocacy organization to stimulate research on CHM. Since its inception, the CRF has provided over $2.5 million in research awards and is the largest financial supporter of CHM research worldwide. Research funded by the CRF has led to the development of a CHM animal model, the pre-clinical production of gene therapy vectors currently in clinical trials, and the CRF Biobank which stores tissue and stem cell samples donated by CHM patients.