The NEI uses UG1 cooperative agreement awards to support investigator-initiated large-scale clinical trials, human gene-transfer and stem cell therapy trials, and other complex or high resource- or safety-risk clinical trials.

These projects are multifaceted and of high public health significance,

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requiring clear delineation of study organization including roles and responsibilities and require careful performance oversight and monitoring for patient safety.

For purposes of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the proposed study must be intended to evaluate interventions aimed at screening, diagnosing, preventing, or treating vision disorders, or to compare the effectiveness of two or more established interventions.

The NEI UG1-supported studies are typically funded as a group of linked companion grant awards including the Chairs Grant, the Coordinating Center, and Resource Centers, when appropriate.

For less organizationally complex projects, details pertaining to data management and statistical analyses, resource center and recruitment activity may be included as part of the Chair's Grant application.

Specifically, this FOA encourages applications for the Resource Center grant which provides imaging, laboratory, or other requisite services for a multi-center clinical trial or other complex or high risk clinical trial.