VHRC thanks Dr. Kupfer for his support. He has been a supporter of our efforts for many years. In fact he was amongst the first Sherbrooke symposium guest speakers in Orford.

Building 31 Room 6A03 31 CENTER DR MSC 2510 BETHESDA MD 20892-2510 (301) 496-2234 fax: (301) 496-9970 November 9, 1999 Dr. Jean Real Brunette President, Vision Health Research Council 260 ch. Bice Orford, Quebec. Canada, J1X 6X4 Dear Dr. Brunette: It is a great personal honor to support and encourage the efforts of the Vision Health Research Council (VHRC) toward establishing a Canadian Institute of Vision Health Research. These efforts are very reminiscent of the activities that occurred in this country more than thirty years ago and ultimately brought about the legislative mandate in 1968 to establish the National Eye Institute (NET) at the National Institutes of Health. As you well know, there were many at that time who felt that the research needs and opportunities related to blindness and visual impairment could be adequately addressed within the funding provided for neurological diseases. The 1968 funding level for vision research at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (NINDB) was about $20.7 million or 16.1 percent of the total budget of $128.6 million. In fiscal year 1999 the NEI s budget would have been $144.8 million if it remained part of NINDB at the 1968 level of funding. Instead, a budget of nearly $400 million was available to address the numerous needs and opportunities in vision research. At the same time, the budget of the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, the successor to NINDB, continued to grow, having nearly $900 million in FY 1999 for pursuit of its research priorities. It is my view that the separation of the institutes has been good for the respective fields of research and for the patients who benefit from research progress. It has allowed each institute to pursue the most daunting challenges within their respective research programs, and at the same time has created the opportunity to collaborate and thereby achieve greater emphasis on areas of mutual interest and concern, such as neurodegenerative diseases, nerve rescue and regeneration, and the processing of sensory information by the brain. In the same way I believe that the proposed Canadian Institute for Vision Health Research offers enormous potential for contribution to the field of vision research and vigorous collaboration in achieving our common goals and objectives. The benefit for the citizens of our two countries, and indeed those of the world, will be more rapid progress in alleviating the suffering caused by blindness and visual disability and improvement in visual health on a global scale. To this end, I commend the VHRC for its efforts and wish you every success in these endeavors.