The Winston Fellow Awards in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences will be awarded annually on a competitive basis to two outstanding vision scientists.
Students enrolled in the ITVS Pathway will automatically be eligible to compete for one $5000 award. Postdoctoral fellows conducting vision science research can apply to compete for one $2500 award. A call for postdoc applications will go out in early 2026.
This award is funded by a generous donation from David and Deborah Winston.
Congratulations to the 2025 Winston Fellow Award winners!
Pooja Rathaur and Chin I Lin were awarded the Winston Fellow Awards on May 29, 2025.
The 2025 Winston Fellow Competition spanned 2 days, with 5 postdoctoral finalists presenting on Friday, May 16 and 4 student finalists presenting on Thursday, May 29.
Panels of distinguished faculty judges evaluated each research presentation on scientific merit, presentation, and subject matter expertise to determine the recipients of the postdoctoral and student versions of the Winston Fellow Award.
Thank you to the Winston Family for their continued generosity in support of vision science research, to the faculty judges for their time and support, and to all of the presenters for giving an excellent showcase of vision science research at WashU. Read more about the event here.
2025 Postdoctoral Finalists
2025 ITVS Student Finalists
Meet the Winstons
The Winston Fellow Award Program in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences was funded in 2022 by a generous gift from David and Deborah Winston.
The Winstons are national patrons of the arts and sciences with long-standing ties to Washington University. Their love of travel and appreciation of cultural events, arts, and music have colored the generous support they have given to scholars, scientists, and musicians across the country for years. David and Deborah are committed to facilitating access to higher education, advancing medical and scientific research, and supporting the creative pursuit of the musical arts. They are thrilled to foster the education and growth of bright, dedicated students, whose knowledge and passion will make a difference in our world for generations to come.
Since retiring from successful careers, David and Deborah now devote their efforts to jointly run the J&M Foundation, dedicated to the memory of David’s parents, to carry out its mission of supporting “scholarships for the mind, medicine for the body, [and] music for the soul.”
