Patient's Gift to Advance Research

A planned contribution to Kellogg will fund a range of work to find answers to AMD

Quick to smile and to make a joke, Barbara H. Raven was a patient at the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center and lit up the clinic whenever she visited. She passed away in March 2011, but she left a lasting legacy. The Eye Center had been named as a beneficiary to a life insurance policy, leading to a significant gift to fund basic science and clinical research that will help in the battle against age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

"Mrs. Raven was a wonderful person, and we appreciate her foresight and her generosity," says Dr. Paul R. Lichter, F. Bruce Fralick Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. "It is very meaningful when our patients remember us in this way. This gift provides significant support for our retinal research program, which is growing in both size and promise."

Mrs. Raven was moved by the prevalence of AMD and by the difficulties faced by individuals who have the disease. More than 2 million people in the United States are experiencing vision loss from AMD, and the problem is increasing as our population grows older.

The condition affects the retina— the sensory membrane that lines the back of the eye—and causes individuals to lose their central vision. Because it has risk factors that range from an individual's genetic makeup to environmental effects, faculty members at the Kellogg Eye Center are searching for answers using many different approaches. Our clinicians participate in clinical trials for medications that have been developed to treat the wet, more aggressive form of the disease. Our scientists are striving to identify where retinal disease begins, to define how diseased cells communicate and multiply, and to find ways to save light-sensing photoreceptor cells from dying during the disease process.

We are also working to uncover genetic patterns of AMD. We have developed and maintain a clinical database of more than 2,000 AMD patients and their families, which we use to study the role inheritance and environmental factors play in AMD.

Mrs. Raven and her husband, George, were Jackson, Michigan, natives. Mr. Raven graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a degree in engineering, and the couple married in 1942. When Mr. Raven took a job in California, the Ravens moved west and lived there for 45 years. When Mr. Raven passed away in 2001, however, Mrs. Raven moved back to Michigan to be close to family and friends. She served as a family historian, and she kept in close touch with friends whom she had spent holidays with over the years. She was an enthusiastic fan of classical music, and she appreciated the talent and hard work it took to perform.

Mrs. Raven enjoyed helping others, and in addition to her gift to Kellogg, she supported such organizations as the Red Cross and Jackson Community College. In 2006, she established the George and Barbara Raven Endowed Scholarship at the University of Michigan College of Engineering.

Kellogg's Carol Standardi, R.N., helped care for Mrs. Raven and became a friend. "Mrs. Raven was a warm and engaging person," she says. "She shared much of herself with others. We will always remember her stories and her laughter."