Innovation in Vision Research Postdoctoral Training Network

With the increasing global incidence of vision impairment and ocular disease due to aging, chronic disease, and environmental factors, the need for pioneering, interdisciplinary and intersectoral research in vision science has never been greater. The 60-month INNOVISION Programme will recruit, train, and accelerate the careers of 12 research fellows in innovative, cutting-edge techniques to tackle ocular disease and vision impairment. Each researcher will be recruited for 30 months as full-time employees, with two calls throughout the programme recruiting six researchers each. INNOVISION will adhere to best practices in recruitment and employment, aligning to the EU’s Charter and Code for Researchers. The complexity of ocular disease demands a multifaceted approach to research that transcends traditional, siloed disciplinary boundaries. INNOVISION uses the “bottom up” research approach to address this, allowing researchers to select their supervisor, design their project, determine their secondments, and build both themselves as researchers, as well as their project goals and aims. As such, INNOVISION ingrains insights from various fields such as nanomedicine, genetics, pharmacology, chemistry, molecular biology, psychology, medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, ophthalmology, artificial intelligence, and social sciences such as global and public health and ethnographic studies (among others), into the comprehensive training programme. Collaboration across sectors—such as academia, industry, and patient advocacy groups—ensures that research findings are not only scientifically robust but also practically applicable, facilitating the translation of discoveries from the lab to the clinic. Equally important is the need to reach out to the public and incorporate Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) initiatives, which ensure that research is aligned with the real-world needs and priorities of those directly affected by ocular disease and vision impairment.