CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE ANNOUNCES $376,250 GRANT FUNDING AWARDED BY NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE TO UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FOR TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR AND DRY EYE INFLAMMATION AND INFECTION PROJECT

Congresswoman Jackson Lee: “The National Eye Institute grant awarded to University of Houston will greatly aid the Vision Research program.”

WASHINGTON —Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX18) announced today that the National Eye Institute has awarded a grant in the amount of $376,250 to the University of Houston to support its Vision Research Program, particularly its ongoing Toll-Like Receptor and Dry Eye Inflammation and Infection Project. The grant funding will enable University of Houston’s Department of Biology and Biochemistry to continue to conduct crucial this research.

“More than 4.9  million Americans suffer from dry eye, a condition in which there is an insufficient supply of tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears are necessary for maintaining the health of the front surface of the eye and for providing clear vision. Research such as University of Houston’s Toll-Like Receptor and Dry Eye Inflammation and Infection Project help the nation to come up with solutions to this common, chronic problem,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

“I congratulate the researchers – faculty, students, clinicians, and others - involved in the Toll-like Receptor and Dry Eye Inflammation and Infection Project on being selected to receive this critically important grant which will help them continue their vital work in this research. I am proud to have supported the authorization programs that made this grant funding possible,” said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

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Congresswoman Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas’s 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and is Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.