National Eye Institute - History

History

Before the National Eye Institute (NEI) was established, primary responsibility for vision research at NIH was done by the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Blindness (NINDB) (which is now known as the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). NINDB was established in 1950, after President Truman signed the Omnibus Medical Research Act . The bill agreed to establish new separate institutes within NIH . This marked the beginning of vision research at a federal level.

Organizing, structuring, and separating vision and neurological research was a challenge at NINDB. NIH did its best to provide an equal budget plan for separate funding for vision research within NINDB. But there was not enough support and staff to handle more projects then what they were already undertaking. This led to the vision research program losing sufficient funding compared to the neurological research program . Some prominent members within the vision research community were not satisfied with how NINDB was operating . They did not approve of combining the two subjects of vision and neurological research together. This prompted some leading academic ophthalmologists and vision community supporters which included Bernard Becker, David Cogan, Edward Maumenee, Michael Hogan, John McLean, Frank Newell, Jules Stein, and Frank Winter to campaign for a separate institute that solely focused on vision research .

The group of supporters had rallied together to begin an effort to promote and advocate for a separate vision institute at NIH. They overcame obstacles and their efforts were finally rewarded. President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed legislation creating the National Eye Institute, to be a part of the National Institutes of Health. The National Eye Institute (NEI) was established on August 16, 1968 . This meant that the NEI would be the country’s first civilian governmental body that focused on visual diseases and disorders in vision research .

The first director of NEI was Dr. Carl Kupfer. He was appointed on January 11, 1970. Dr. Kupfer wanted to establish and mold NEI into the lead agency in vision research. He wanted to make sure that the vision research program expanded and was focused on the entire visual system and not just part of it . During the first 14 years the institute succeeded in attracting some noted researchers and doctors and increasing the number of researchers in vision science on its intramural staff. In 1983 NEI received national recognition for its leadership in both clinical ophthalmology and research on eye diseases and disorders .