NEW YORK—CooperVision Inc. announced a call for proposals for the CooperVison Science and Technology (S&T) Awards Program. Now in its fourth year, the program fosters partnerships between award recipients and CooperVision scientists to explore new areas of advancement in contact lens technology, and enable the translation of concepts into real solutions.

“At CooperVision, we are constantly working toward the next development in contact lens technology in order to deliver the greatest benefits to current and future contact lens wearers,” said Arthur Back, chief technology officer, CooperVision. “These advancements start with innovative ideas, sometimes from outside sources such as our S&T Award recipients. To give these scientists the opportunity to apply their research—especially in partnership with CooperVision’s own scientists—is mutually beneficial for all involved. We look forward to seeing the original thinking, unique perspectives, and novel concepts represented in this year’s proposals.”

The key focus areas for the 2017 Science and Technology Awards are: strategies to improve contact lens comfort, with an emphasis on devices and non-pharmaceutical approaches with novel modes of action to retain, manage or enhance moisture at the ocular/lens surface; insights into the retinal response from optical defocus; and technologies to expand the functionality of contact lenses as a wearable device for application beyond conventional vision correction.

There are two types of awards available, the CooperVision Seedling Award, intended to incentivize collaboration with CooperVision in a new research area for a one year period; and the CooperVision Translational Research Award, a multi-year award for a substantive translational research project.

Interested applicants must submit a letter of intent by May 30, 2016 and upon approval, must submit a full proposal by Aug. 29, 2016. Proposals should demonstrate significant potential for research discoveries and technological advancements that CooperVision can commercialize to improve the performance, enhance the functionality and broaden the use of contact lenses. Visit CooperVision.com to apply.