In 1978, Drs. Shaffer, Hoskins and Hetherington founded the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF), now America’s oldest and most experienced national institution dedicated solely to its mission: to cure glaucoma and restore vision through innovative research.

Later that year, the Shaffer Glaucoma Fellowship was established by GRF founder and world-renowned glaucoma specialist Dr. Robert N. Shaffer to inspire young ophthalmologists to study glaucoma.