2025-26 Summer Scholars

In September Vision Research Foundation was honoured to be chosen as a grant recipient by The Trusts Community Foundation (TTCF). TTCF is a not-for-profit company established primarily to distribute the profits generated from Class 4 gambling machines operating in bars and restaurants in many parts of New Zealand. TTFC awarded VRF a grant to cover our administrator’s salary for 3 months. Support from local grant makers means we can use more of our donations to fund scholarships for vital research. We try to keep our operating costs as low as possible, so we truly appreciate their support.

VRF is now thrilled to announce we have been able to award two Summer Studentships for 2025-2026. With funding that was previously allocated to our operating costs, we have been able to award a full Summer Studentship to Andrew Holmes, who will be looking at artificial intelligence (AI) approaches for the prediction of glaucoma risk.

With funding from a generous donor, we have been able to award a partial Summer Studentship to Makayla Kahi. Makayla is using Kaupapa Māori research (KMR) methodologies to evaluate the extent, quality, and cultural responsiveness of Māori-focused research in studies of ophthalmological surgical access, experiences and outcomes.

We look forward to sharing the results of both studentships with the VRF community.