OCULAR IMMUNOLOGY AND UVEITIS FOUNDATION MISSION STATEMENT The Pinkburst Project is dedicated to the research, education and support of those affected by Uveitis, the leading cause of blindness among American girls. Founded by Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, the Pinkburst Project is also a collection of custom Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Paul Reed Smith, Roukangas and Martin guitars and custom Fender, Marshall, Vox, Mesa, Orange, Hartke and Diamond amplifiers built to raise awareness and ultimately fund ongoing research, education and support for The Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation. Created by Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, The Pinkburst Project custom collection of guitars and amplifiers will be offered for sale through Skinner Auctioneers Fine Musical Instruments Department on Sunday, May 1, 2011. FINDING A CURE We believe that only through applied research will we be successful in finding a cure for inflammatory diseases of the eye. This ongoing research is sponsored from government grants, industry funding, and private donations, and takes place in our state-of-the-art research laboratory and clinical center. We also collaborate with physicians from around the world to share ideas, achievements, and new information in an effort to spread valuable knowledge worldwide. It is our goal to create the first research center in the world specifically focused on finding cures for ocular inflammatory diseases to expand our research efforts. ERASING THE DEFICIT Few centers of excellence in diagnosing and treating patients with ocular inflammatory diseases exist around the world. Even fewer academic programs exist to train primary care ophthalmologists to meet this need. Our Foundation offers a fellowship program through Harvard Medical School to train future ocular immunologists. We host physicians and students from around the world to train on the latest, most successful treatments for ocular inflammatory diseases. We offer ongoing training sessions for ophthalmologists and optometrists in the treatment of uveitis and other ocular inflammatory diseases. We participate in national and international professional organizations and attend educational conferences to train and educate tomorrow’s ocular immunologists. Dr. Stephen Foster received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry at Duke University, with Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa in 1965, and received his Doctor of Medicine Degree at Duke University Medical Center, in 1969, being elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He trained in Internal Medicine at Duke University Hospital from 1969-1970, and at the National Heart and Lung Institute, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, from 1970 to 1972, during which time he also taught Internal Medicine, with appointment as Instructor in Medicine at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. In 1972, Dr. Foster entered his Ophthalmology Residency training program at Washington University (Barnes Hospital), in St. Louis, Missouri, and having completed that in 1975, he then traveled to Boston to do two additional Fellowship trainings in Cornea and External Diseases, and in Ocular Immunology. He completed this training in 1977 and was invited to join the full-time faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology of Harvard Medical School, where he was a member of the Cornea Service and Director of the Residency Training Program at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He began his independent research in 1977, and was continuously funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health until he chose to focus primarily on Clinical Practice in 1990. He created the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1980, and began the Uveitis and Ocular Immunology Fellowship in 1984. Over 100 Ophthalmologists have successfully completed this training program in uveitis and ocular immunology, and most have contributed to the over 500 published books and papers that Dr. Foster has authored. Dr. Foster continues to direct a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution (MERSI), through the support of his newly created research foundation, The Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation; this laboratory is devoted to the study of eye surgery, inflammation, and infections. Dr. Foster sees and treats patients with cataract, glaucoma, cornea and external ocular diseases, and uveitis. He teaches cataract, corneal microsurgery, and vitreal surgery for inflammatory eye disease. The following is a message from Dr. Foster from the MERSI web site Along with its research and educational foundation, The Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation, the MERSI philosophy is one of sharing the knowledge, information and technology it has developed during the 30 years that I have devoted to the study and care of patients with eye disease. The training of over 100 fellows from all over the globe, bears testimony to this philosophy and to our belief in the "Never, Ever Quit" and "Do Whatever It Takes" effort to eliminate blindness in general, and from ocular inflammation in particular. But because only a limited number of Fellows can come and exploit the opportunities offered at MERSI, I decided in 1996, to use the internet, the most current, state-of-the-art medium to further the goal of sharing knowledge and information, reaching out to more physicians (especially fellow Ophthalmologists and Immunologists), residents and fellows in training, Medical Universities and Hospitals, allied health professionals and most importantly, patients. Donations can be made directly to The Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation: www.uveitis.org