Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative
TODAY Show: Dr. S. Robert Levine Speaks with Jenna Bush on the Life of Mary Tyler Moore
By Liz Calvario and Erin Farley
Mary Tyler Moore and her husband, Dr. Robert Levine, were married for more than 30 years before her death in 2017.
The beloved comedian revolutionized the role of the modern American woman, breaking barriers with her performances on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
But to Dr. Levine, as he told TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager, his Mary was “someone who had (an) enormous heart, great grace… extraordinarily generous and kind.”
The former couple got married in 1983. They met by coincidence after Moore’s mother, Marjorie Hackett Moore, was sick and needed a doctor. Dr. Levine was on call.
“When I was about to leave, I said what you would expect a doctor to say, ‘Mary, if you have concerns or any further questions, just give me a call,’” he recalled. “And she turns to me and says, ‘Is acute loneliness a good enough reason to call?’”
“And I said, ‘I can’t think of a better reason to be calling at 3 a.m. And so in fact, a couple of days later, at 3 a.m., she called me,” Dr. Levine said, adding that he was “absolutely” shocked.
Mary Tyler Moore and husband Dr. Robert Levine attend the 13th Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 1997.Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty
The doctor revealed that he had no idea Moore was such a huge star, but knew their relationship was special.
“In that first moment, I recognized it was different and certainly our first date… it was so easy,” he said. “Because I didn’t really know Mary as a star, so there wasn’t (a) fan-star thing going on.”
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Dr. Levine had barely seen any episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” explaining how he was busy with college and medical school. “(It) really wasn’t what I was doing, watching TV on Saturday nights.”
Moore was previously married to Richard Carleton Meeker from 1955 to 1961, and Grant Tinker from 1962 to 1981. However, Moore previously said Dr. Levine was her first true love.
“You must feel really lucky and blessed that that was you,” Hager Bush said, with Dr. Levine replying, “Yeah, yeah I was. Absolutely.”
In a new documentary, “Being Mary Tyler Moore,” fans will get to see never-before-seen pictures and archival footage found in Moore’s own basement that shows more of the woman behind the smile.
“I suggested we call the film, ‘Being Mary Tyler Moore,’” Dr. Levine, who serves as an executive producer, said. “The thing about it was, being Mary, because everything Mary did, she was authentic. She was being herself.”
Dr. Levine is now carrying on his late wife’s legacy, working to find a way to cure complications from diabetes with the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative.
Moore was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in her early 30s and faced other challenges throughout her life. The television icon struggled with alcoholism and suffered the death of her only son, Richie Meeker, who died at the age of 24.
“If you look at her from physical challenges, from health challenges, but also from emotional, she never shied,” Dr. Levine said. “I wanted to reflect on what Mary’s life was, remind people of her importance and her impact, and encourage them to be a Mary too. To stand up for what you believe and to always present the world with a smile, but to not be shy from the battle.” Read more.
Chris German
Meet Christopher German, PhD, a passionate advocate for diabetes awareness and a lay advisory committee member for the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative. Chris has been living with Type 1 diabetes for over 35 years since he was diagnosed at just six years old. For the past 15 years, he’s faced bi-annual assessments, which, while helpful for tracking the disease’s progression, often fall short of offering guidance for prevention of future complications.
Chris explains that having diabetes is a constant balancing act that affects every aspect of life. The financial strain, the looming risks to eyes, kidneys, and heart, and the daily management can be overwhelming. Yet, Chris remains steadfast and deeply invested in finding better ways to support those like him.
Spring 2024 Workshop
We’re pleased to share that The Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative held a “Workshop on Data” in Seattle, WA on May 7. The workshop was entitled: “Data Harmonization, Standardization, and Collaboration for Diabetic Retinal Disease: accelerating the Development of New Indications, Therapies, and Regulatory Pathways.” We are grateful for the contributions of our 60 attendees who represented research expertise from industry, academia, government, and non-profit organizations. We all need to work together to bring us closer to finding a cure for vision loss and blindness caused by diabetes and how we handle and manage our research and real-world patient data is key to accomplishing this goal.
Mary Tyler Moore: Diabetes Educator and Advocate
“Who can turn the world on with her smile?” So began the theme song for the popular The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired on the CBS television network from 1970 to 1977. With the passing of Mary Tyler Moore, the show’s star, on 25 January 2017, the diabetes community lost an individual who for decades not only brought smiles to her audiences, but also changed the world for people living with diabetes, researchers seeking its cure, and health care providers for those with the disease.
Dr. Jennifer K. Sun Promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Dr. Jennifer K. Sun, MD, MPH has been promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
Any promotion within the Harvard academic system is a major achievement directly dependent on excellence in research, teaching and clinical care. Promotion to full Professor is one of the greatest recognitions available at Harvard and widely considered one of the most prestigious achievements in all of academia.
Dr. Sun’s promotion recognizes the entirety of the global impact of her work through her publication record, teaching, invited presentations, research funding, and numerous honors and awards. Dr. Sun’s accomplishments to date in diabetes ophthalmic research and clinical care are highly deserving of this remarkable recognition. She is widely respected as one of the world’s most experienced and knowledgeable investigators in the design, implementation and analyses of diabetic retinopathy clinical trials. Dr. Sun’s efforts have already had a major international impact on the field of diabetic eye care through her leadership of studies that have dramatically changed the standard of clinical care for diabetic retinal disease. As Chair of Diabetes Initiatives for the DRCR Retina Network and Scientific Co-Director of the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, she currently leads two of the premier organizations undertaking clinical research efforts in diabetic retinal disease.
Dr. Sun becomes the third Harvard Professor of the Beetham Eye Institute, joining Lloyd M. Aiello and LPA. Her promotion to Professor is also a recognition of the Joslin environment that has nurtured her career. Upon joining the Joslin faculty in 2005, she became the first participant in the Harvard Clinician Scientist K12 program with Dr. Lloyd Paul Aiello as her primary mentor and she has also collaborated closely over the last 2 decades with Dr. George King in his groundbreaking Joslin 50-Year Medalist Study. Her achievements reflect the excellence of the research program and clinical care at the Beetham Eye Institute/Joslin and the incredible dedication of our staff, faculty and fellows to improving visual outcomes in people with diabetes around the world.
Please join us in wishing Dr. Jennifer Sun well-deserved congratulations on this wonderful achievement! There will be a more formal recognition at Joslin sometime in the fall.
LPA & George L. King, MD
See more on our social media here.
Kristen Wiig to Receive Inaugural Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award at Variety TV FYC Fest
By: William Earl
Variety will present actor, producer and writer Kristen Wiig with the inaugural Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award on June 6 in Los Angeles at the Variety TV FYC Fest.
Wiig is being recognized for her extensive and groundbreaking achievements in storytelling, in honor of Moore’s extraordinary impact on the entertainment industry.
Following the award presentation, Wiig will sit down for a conversation with Variety deputy features editor Jenelle Riley to discuss her current work in Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale.”
As previously announced, to support the Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award, Variety launched the “Be a Mary” advertising campaign in partnership with the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, a nonprofit fighting against Diabetic Retinal Disease (DRD) by enabling major research breakthroughs and supporting global collaboration. This campaign aims to galvanize support for research directed at efforts to pioneer new therapies to prevent and cure vision loss and blindness caused by diabetes. “Be a Mary” implores audiences to embrace the ethos epitomized by Moore herself: a spirit characterized by boundless generosity, unwavering kindness, profound compassion, resilience in the face of life’s challenges and fearless risk-taking.
“Kristen Wiig’s iconic characters and quick wit mirror what made Mary Tyler Moore a bright light in the industry and an inspiration to women,” said Dea Lawrence, COO and CMO of Variety. “Like Moore, Wiig’s prolific career has brought laughter to households around the world, making her the ideal choice for this award.”
“Kristen is the perfect choice for Variety’s first Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award,” said Moore’s husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine, founder and CEO of the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative. “Like Mary, Kristen is a rare, multi-talented creator and innovator whose journey began in ballet. This foundation taught them both the significance of timing, grace, diligence, physical confidence and the necessity of trusting those around you and collaborating with the best. It’s an honor to see Mary’s legacy flourish through Kristen’s support of MTM Vision to advance research to preserve and restore vision in people with diabetes.”
Wiig will join previously announced Variety TV FYC Fest speakers Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelsey Grammer, Greta Lee, Dakota Fanning, Ricky Martin, Lisa Ann Walter, Jane Lynch, Drew Carey and Joel McHale, among others. Tickets to Variety’s TV FYC Fest are available at variety.com/tvfest.
Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative Physician-Scientist Award
Research to Prevent Blindness Opens Applications for Vision Research Grants
The awards offered cover a wide variety of topics in vision science, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, retinal diseases, and many more.
NEW YORK – May 6, 2024 – Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is pleased to announce that it has opened a new round of grant funding for high-impact vision research. With a focus on scientific excellence, RPB funds research across all sight-threatening conditions, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, inherited retinal diseases, amblyopia, low vision and many more. In this award cycle (one of two award cycles per year), RPB is offering a variety of grants for individual researchers, as well as Unrestricted Grants and Challenge Grants to high-performing departments of ophthalmology. RPB provides a total of approximately $11 million in grant funding annually.
All award applications for this funding cycle are due July 1, 2024, with nomination forms due no later than June 15.
“We’re thrilled to offer these prestigious vision research awards that will help to move the needle in terms of supporting the development of treatments, preventives and cures for all conditions that damage and destroy sight,” said Brian F. Hofland, PhD, President of Research to Prevent Blindness. “We recognize that research is a ‘long game’ and it is only through continued, sustained investment that we will continue to make the kind of game-changing progress that we’ve made over the past 64 years.”
The list of individual researcher grants that are currently open is listed below.
RPB Career Development Award
The RPB Career Development Award helps RPB-supported ophthalmology chairs support promising early-career ophthalmology faculty who have demonstrated their potential for independent research (but have not yet received an NIH R01 or equivalent award) with significant research projects. The $350,000 grant is payable for up to four years.
There are two types of CDAs available in this award cycle:
- The RPB / Tom Wertheimer Career Development Award in Data Science focuses on vision research that uses artificial intelligence and/or data science to gain new knowledge related to sight-threatening conditions. Where applicable, we strongly encourage inclusion of diverse populations in proposed studies.
- The RPB Career Development Award will not have a specific focus and is open to any topic within vision research.
RPB Career Advancement Award
The RPB Career Advancement Award (CAA) assists outstanding early-career vision scientists in pursuit of ongoing research of unusual significance and promise. This one-time award of $150,000 is available to candidates who have already received their first NIH R01 and are collecting new data to apply for a second R01. This award is open to researchers at any institution of higher education in the U.S.
There are two types of CAAs available in this award cycle:
- The RPB / David Epstein Career Advancement Award in Glaucoma Research sponsored by Alcon will focus on a research project in glaucoma.
- The RPB Career Advancement Award will not have a specific scientific focus and is open to any topic within vision research.
RPB Physician-Scientist Award
Recognizing the unique contributions of clinician-scientists and their deep commitment to patient care, the RPB Physician-Scientist Award promotes the clinical and/or basic science research of clinicians. This $300,000 award is open to MDs or MD/PhDs at RPB-supported departments of ophthalmology.
There are three types of Physician-Scientist Awards available in this award cycle:
- The RPB / Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative Physician-Scientist Award will focus on cutting-edge retinal research to expand relevant knowledge and to develop methods to preserve and restore visual function in diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, and diabetic retinal neurodegeneration (collectively Diabetic Retinal Disease (DRD)). Relevant areas include but are not limited to research related to DRD clinical endpoints and biomarkers, assessments of visual function and patient quality of life, retinal non-perfusion and vascular integrity, neuroprotection, regeneration, as well as related stem-cell research and gene therapy. Innovative proposals that address gaps in research, or address restoration of vision in advanced DRD are encouraged and prioritized.
- The RPB Physician-Scientist Award in Myopia Research will focus on research that seeks to provide a better understanding of the development of myopia and/or how it can be prevented or decelerated. The number of people affected by myopia is now increasing around the world and is projected to affect 50% of the world population by 2050.
- The RPB Physician-Scientist Award will not have a specific scientific focus and is open to any topic within vision research.
RPB Catalyst Award for Innovative Research Approaches for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
The RPB Catalyst Awards will provide funds to researchers who are working on novel approaches to understanding or treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD). RPB is partnering with:
- American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF)
- Dr. H. James and Carole Free
- International Retinal Research Foundation (IRRF)
to co-fund up to three Catalyst Awards (one award with each partner) in the amount of $300,000 each. Translational projects – clinically relevant research that could lead to therapeutics or treatment for AMD that is not yet in clinical trials – are encouraged. This award is open to researchers at any institution of higher education in the U.S.
RPB International Research Collaborators Award
The RPB International Research Collaborators Award promotes international collaborations through which researchers in the U.S. and outside the U.S. gain new knowledge and skills. Under a reciprocal arrangement, supported by this $75,000 grant, a U.S.-based researcher or team will be funded to go for a period of time to an institution outside the U.S. to deepen collaborative relationships with researchers there. In turn, the institution outside the U.S. will send a researcher or team members for a period of time to the U.S. institution. This award is open to researchers at any institution of higher education in the U.S.
RPB Stein Innovation Award – Outside Ophthalmology
The RPB Stein Innovation Award provides $300,000 to two groups of researchers (those inside ophthalmology departments and those outside ophthalmology departments), both with a common goal of understanding the visual system and the diseases that compromise its function. During this award cycle, RPB is accepting applications from researchers outside ophthalmology departments. These awards are intended to provide seed money to proposed high-risk / high-gain vision research that is innovative and cutting-edge. This award is open to researchers at any institution of higher education in the U.S.
RPB Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship
The RPB Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship allows gifted students to take a year off from allopathic or osteopathic medical school and devote time to the pursuit of a research project within an RPB-supported department of ophthalmology. RPB encourages medical students who are under-represented in medicine and women to apply to these awards to help bring needed diversity to the field of ophthalmology.
Three types of Medical Student Eye Research Fellowships are available in this award cycle:
- The RPB / AOCOO-HNS Foundation Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship for a Student of Osteopathic Medicine will offer one award to a student of osteopathic medicine focusing on any topic in vision research within an RPB-supported department of ophthalmology. Open to students of osteopathic medicine (SOM) only.
- The RPB / Johnson & Johnson Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship will not have a specific scientific focus and is open to any topic in vision research within an RPB-supported department of ophthalmology. Open to students of allopathic medicine (MD) only.
- The RPB Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship will not have a specific scientific focus and is open to any topic in vision research within an RPB-supported department of ophthalmology. Open to students of allopathic medicine (MD) only.
To review more information on any of these grants, including eligibility criteria and application guidelines, please visit the RPB website (bit.ly/RPBgrants2024).
If you have questions regarding the RPB Grants Program, please contact a member of RPB’s Grants Administration team, MariaClaudia Lora-Montano (646-892-9564; mlora@rpbusa.org) or Pattie Moran (646-892-9566; pmoran@rpbusa.org).
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About Research to Prevent Blindness
Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is the leading nonprofit organization supporting eye research directed at the prevention, treatment or eradication of all diseases that damage and destroy sight. As part of this purview, RPB also supports efforts to grow and sustain a robust and diverse vision research community. Since it was founded in 1960 by Dr. Jules Stein, RPB has awarded more than $413 million in research grants to the most talented vision scientists at the nation’s leading medical schools. As a result, RPB has been associated with nearly every major breakthrough in the understanding and treatment of vision loss in the past 64 years. Learn more at www.rpbusa.org.
Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative and Variety Partner for Award and ‘Be A Mary’ Campaign
Variety launches “Be A Mary” campaign in partnership with
the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative
Variety has created the Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award, an annual honor that recognizes extensive and groundbreaking achievements in storytelling, matching Mary’s continuing extraordinary impact on the entertainment industry.
To support the Mary Tyler Moore Visionary Award, Variety has launched an advertising and social media campaign, “Be A Mary,” in partnership with the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative. This campaign aims to galvanize support for research directed at efforts to pioneer new therapies to prevent and cure vision loss from diabetes. “Be A Mary” implores audiences to embrace the ethos epitomized by Mary herself: a spirit characterized by boundless generosity, unwavering kindness, profound compassion, resilience in the face of life’s challenges, and fearless risk-taking.
Please visit us on Instagram @MTMVISION_ to tell us what makes you or someone you know, a “Mary.” The sight you help save may be your own or that of someone you love.
Ryan Barunas
Ryan has lived with diabetes for over 34 years, has experienced vision loss from the disease, and even had a partial detachment of his left retina following scatter laser therapy. Ryan spoke about his vision loss from diabetes, “As a young person with hopes and aspirations, this was terrifying.” He had eye surgery that was deemed successful—until two years later when he went back to his retina specialist and realized his right eye was deteriorating.
Ryan states, “Thanks to my skilled surgeon, a support network, including my family, my wife, and close friends, I came through on the other side with my vision, again, mostly intact.” Ryan believes that, due to MTM Vision’s passion and commitment to research to prevent vision loss and blindness from diabetes, we will bring better future outcomes for patients like himself.
Fall 2023 Workshop
The Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative held its second annual global workshop, titled “Advancing Development of New Indications, Therapies, and Regulatory Pathways for Diabetic Retinal Disease,” on World Diabetes Day, November 14, 2023. Over 100 specialists from around the world convened to explore the complexities of Diabetic Retinal Disease (DRD), contributing their expertise to our mission of preserving and restoring vision for millions affected by the disease.
The Caswell Diabetes Institute and Kellogg Eye Center, both part of the University of Michigan, hosted the workshop. It addressed critical scientific breakthroughs and advancements, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among global research experts from academia, pharmaceutical and device companies, and government agencies. The aim was to accelerate the development of new indications, therapies, and regulatory pathways for DRD, and to work together toward preventing and curing the disease.
Partners and Sponsors
The workshop was sponsored by Anida Pharma, Adaptive Sensory Technology, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, LKC Technologies, Ocular Therapeutix, OcuTerra Therapeutics, Optos, ONL Therapeutics, Perfuse Therapeutics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Roche/Genentech, and Vision tree. We extend our gratitude to these sponsors and to our partners: The Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine, MD Charitable Foundation, Caswell Diabetes Institute, Kellogg Eye Center, JDRF, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). We’d also like to thank the diabetes patients and family advocates for their support and contributions to the Workshop.
Panel discussions included:
Clinical Studies on Useful Endpoints and Biomarkers for DRD
Michael F. Chiang, MD | Director, National Eye Institute and Jennifer Sun, MD, MPH | Science Co-Director, MTM Vision along with a panel of experts, explored the pivotal role of data standardization and the necessity for new clinical trial endpoints.
Ocular Biorepository and Resource Center
Patrice Fort, PhD, MS | Director, MTM Vision Biorepository & Resource Center and Mark Atkinson, PhD | Director, nPOD & Diabetes Institute, University of Florida provided insights into the progress of the biorepository, highlighting the establishment of a facility at the University of Michigan’s Caswell Diabetes Institute and Kellogg Eye Center to understand DRD and identify new therapeutic targets.
Regulatory Pathways in Neurodegenerative Ocular Disease
S. Robert Levine, MD | Chair, MTM Vision and Wiley A. Chambers, MD | Director of the Division of Ophthalmology, Office of Specialty Medicine, Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)engaged in a dialogue on regulatory pathways in ocular disease. Dr. Levine stressed the need for examining interventions in the earlier stages of DRD, while Dr. Chambers emphasized the importance of well-defined and reliable assessments, including risk assessment and consideration of quality-of-life outcomes.
Hot Topics
Drs. Stela Vujosevic, MD, PhD, FEBO | San Giuseppe Hospital, IRCCS MultiMedica, Risa Wolf, Director, Pediatric Diabetes Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Paolo Silva delved into Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), youth with diabetes, and the integration of telemedicine and AI in DRD, emphasizing the need for improved therapeutic options.
Risa M. Wolf, MD | Director, Pediatric Diabetes Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine highlighted a rising prevalence of diabetic retinal disease in youth with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In a 10-year longitudinal study with 404 participants, 50% developed diabetic retinopathy or clinically significant macular edema.
According to Paolo Silva, MD | Assistant Chief of Telemedicine, Joslin Diabetes Center, Beetham Eye Institute, Harvard Medical School the primary obstacle to telemedicine is the persistence of ungradable or low-quality images. Improving image acquisition enhances the success rate of images, thereby improving care for both providers and patients.
MTM Vision Awareness, Fund Development and Media
The panel addressed what can be done in the entertainment industry to increase awareness of DRD and help raise funds for DRD research. Panelists: Eric Carlson Founder of The Carlson Company, Social Impact & Media, Award Winning Documentary and Film Producer, Brian Gott | Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Industry Relations and Media EIF, Nicole Sexton | President & CEO, EIF, and Monica Oxenreiter | VP of Content, Close Concerns.
