The Innovative Ophthalmology Research Award is sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) (known as Merck & Co., Inc. in the USA). As a global, research-driven pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of human health products, MSD takes enormous pride in stimulating and sponsoring promising scientists to pioneer scientific advances that will surely lead to the better treatment and cure of diseases.

Instituted more than 20 years ago by MSD and Merck & Co., Inc. under the name of the "Chibret Award," or "MSD Award," this biennial award is presented in honor of Dr. Paul Chibret, one of the founding fathers of French and European ophthalmology.

Since the Award was established in 1982, numerous young recipients have made dramatic contributions to scientific knowledge in the field of ophthalmology, as Dr. Chibret did more than 100 years ago. Over the years, all these young researchers have displayed the same inventiveness, realism, and rigor that drive all scientific discoveries.

The objective of the Innovative Ophthalmology Research Award is to encourage researchers to undertake investigative work in critical areas of ophthalmology.