As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, we are acknowledging 25 leaders in innovation during the last 25 years. These ophthalmologists have all made notable contributions to the industry over the previous quarter century, and their work toward improving ophthalmic patient care continues.

To determine our list of 25 leaders in innovation, we surveyed our editorial board, readers and industry for their feedback on the surgeons they feel have made a significant impact and contributed to the advancement of ophthalmology during the last 25 years. After receiving more than 60 nominees, our readers and editorial advisory board voted on these names and the list was whittled down to 25.

By limiting a list of this nature to only 25 ophthalmologists, we have excluded several extraordinary names. This is not a ranking of the top ophthalmologists — it’s a list of 25 innovators who are included based on votes by their peers. We appreciate all of the input we received from everyone who contributed to this list.

IKE AHMED, MD

Though Ike Ahmed, MD, is still early in his career, his iconoclastic orientation and productive intensity have led to global recognition and a host of top honors for his often groundbreaking work. He has performed surgery on four continents, published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, authored several books and given more than 1,000 scientific presentations, including 40 international visiting professor’s lectures. His multiple awards include ASCRS’ Binkhorst Medal, the Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Innovator of the Year Award and the inaugural Ophthalmology Innovation Summit Clinical Innovator Award.

He was the first in Canada to perform laser surgery for cataracts. An active inventor, he has developed advanced techniques, devices and tools for ocular microsurgery, glaucoma, cataract treatment and IOL implantation, among others. Dr. Ahmed been dubbed the “father of microinvasive glaucoma surgery” (MIGS), after coining the term himself during his work consulting for iStent maker Glaukos and other MIGS device manufacturers. With teaching posts at the University of Toronto and University of Utah, Dr. Ahmed is deeply involved in ongoing research and in training the next generation of eye surgeons to overcome the most challenging maladies they may confront.

DAVID CHANG, MD

David Chang, MD, founder of Chang Cataract in Los Altos, Calif., and the Peninsula Eye Surgery Center in Mountainview, Calif., was inspired to devote his career to exploring phacoemulsification after seeing a film of inventor Dr. Charles Kelman performing the procedure while he was in medical school. It led the Harvard student to a career of exceptional achievement and influence, including serving as president of ASCRS and chair of the AAO Cataract Preferred Practice Pattern Committee, the body that determines cataract surgery clinical guidelines used around the world.

One of the top ophthalmologists in the world, Dr. Chang is a prolific writer and lecturer who has received most of ophthalmology’s top honors. He has been bestowed with the Ridley Medal, the Venkataswamy Memorial Award, the Tadeusz Krwawicz Gold Medal and the Binkhorst Medal, just to name a handful. Yet, he has cited his work and philanthropy in resident education at UC San Francisco as his most important legacy. He has authored multiple textbooks on cataract surgery and advanced lens implantation, four of which are best sellers, and has designed several surgical instruments for cataract procedures. Dr. Chang was the first to name the tamsulosin-associated small pupil syndrome “intraoperative floppy iris syndrome.”

STEVE CHARLES, MD

Steve Charles, MD, renowned retina surgeon, has developed techniques and devices used by vitreoretinal surgeons across the globe. He has said that receiving the AAO’s Laureate Recognition Award in 2018 for his work in vitreoretinal surgery was the most memorable moment of his career.

Dr. Charles is a mechanical and electrical engineer with more than 100 issued or pending patents. As the founder of MicroDexterity Systems and CamPlex Inc, he has helped developed robots that enhance dexterity for minimally invasive surgeries and advanced visualization technology, respectively.

He authored a leading vitreoretinal textbook, now in its fifth edition and translated into six languages, as well as 174 articles and more than 50 book chapters. Among numerous other accolades, Dr. Charles has given the Retina Society’s Schepens and the ASCRS Kelman lectures and has received the Wacker Medal from the Club Jules Gonin and the first Founders Medal from the Vitreous Society. He is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee and is founder of the Charles Retina Institute in Germantown, Tennessee. Dr. Charles is also a pilot.

UDAY DEVGAN, MD

Uday Devgan, MD, an award-winning surgeon and teacher, specializes in cataract, lens and refractive surgery. He has taught surgery for 20, performing procedures in 40 countries. Dr. Devgan has authored more than 200 books, chapters, medical papers and journal articles and his teaching columns are published around the world. His website, CataractCoach.com , contains videos and articles to teach eye surgeons around the world about various techniques of cataract surgery.

A full clinical professor of ophthalmology at Jules Stein Eye Institute at the UCLA School of Medicine, he is also chief of ophthalmology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and in private practice at Devgan Eye Surgery in Los Angeles. He has received the annual ophthalmology faculty teaching award at UCLA/Jules Stein Eye Institute an unprecedented five times.

Dr. Devgan has been a consultant to industry, designing instruments, developing surgical platforms, evolving surgical techniques and innovating new technologies for the past two decades. He has been named one of the top key opinion leaders in ophthalmology and has conducted charity surgical missions around the globe. He started the revolutionary bio-mathematical company IOLcalc.com and helped develop the curvature changing, fluid-optic Juvene IOL with LensGen.

ERIC DONNENFELD, MD

Known worldwide for his expertise in refractive, corneal and cataract surgery, Eric Donnenfeld, MD, was first in his class at Dartmouth Medical School. This auspicious debut would later be eclipsed by his achievement and influence in the fields of corneal transplantation, cataract treatment and laser vision correction. He is currently clinical professor of ophthalmology at New York University Medical Center and served as ASCRS president.

An inventor and author, Dr. Donnenfeld holds six patents for refractive surgical instruments and has published nearly 200 papers, 500 journal articles and dozens of books and chapters. He has been recognized by the AAO with its Honor, Senior Honor, Life Achievement and Secretariat Awards, and he is the youngest person to date to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nassau Surgical Society.

In perhaps the most telling testament to the esteem in which Dr. Donnenfeld is held, he has performed more than 70,000 laser vision correction procedures, including more than 1,000 on eye doctors and their families.

JULIA A. HALLER, MD

Ophthalmologist-in-chief at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Julia A. Haller, MD, holds the William Tasman, MD, Endowed Chair. As a trailblazing retina surgeon-scientist and leader, her work has served to advance the prevention of blindness. Dr. Haller has more than 400 scientific articles and book chapters to her credit, spanning her research interests from retinal pharmacology to macular surgery to diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Dr. Haller served as Wilmer Eye Institute’s first female chief resident. As a member of the faculty, she was named the inaugural Katharine Graham Professor of Ophthalmology and then the inaugural Robert Bond Welch, MD, Professor. She is also passionate about overcoming health-care disparities and is an advocate for gender equality.

Dr. Haller was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, with other highlights including the AAO Honor Award, the AAO Senior Achievement Award, the Vitreous Society Senior Honor Award, the Crystal Apple Award (for mentorship) of the ASRS and the President’s Award from Women in Ophthalmology. She holds Chair XVI of the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis and is president of the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation.

BONNIE AN HENDERSON, MD

Internationally recognized cataract and refractive surgery expert Bonnie An Henderson, MD, specializes in complicated anterior segment surgery. A clinical professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, her principal research focuses on cataract surgery outcomes and innovative teaching methods. She is an inventor with numerous medical instruments to her credit, including a modified capsule tension ring, astigmatism correcting markers and a capsule polisher. Supported by a Department of Defense TATRIC grant, she developed a digital-based method for teaching cataract surgery.

Author of more than 175 articles, papers, book chapters and abstracts, she has given in excess of 300 invited lectures worldwide. Among the five textbooks she has published, Essentials of Cataract Surgery is regularly used to teach cataract surgery.

Dr. Henderson created an international ophthalmology meeting to support and empower female leaders in medicine, EnVision Summit, and served as the president of the ASCRS. Dr. Henderson has received the AAO’s Achievement Award, Secretariat Award and Senior Achievement Award, in addition to the Teacher of the Year award from Harvard Medical School.

JACK T. HOLLADAY, MD

Jack T. Holladay, MD, was in his second year as an ophthalmology resident when he invented the Brightness Acuity Test, or BAT, which accurately assesses the effect of glare on a patient’s vision. The test has enabled many thousands to qualify for sight-saving cataract surgery who would have been denied otherwise.

With degrees in electrical engineering and computer science prior to his medical training, Dr. Holladay was uniquely positioned to blend these disciplines in search of creative solutions. His clinical guide software programs and IOL formulas are in regular use worldwide.

He was awarded the International Society of Refractive Surgery’s Lifetime Achievement Medal and another from the AAO, as well as the Binkhorst Medal, Ridley Medal and many other honors. He retired from full-time practice in 2010, but Dr. Holladay remains a clinical professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and spends his remaining professional time consulting, writing and advising about ophthalmology patient management.

EDWARD J. HOLLAND, MD

Edward J. Holland, MD, is the director of cornea services at Cincinnati Eye Institute (CEI) and professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati. He is known nationally and internationally for his cornea and external disease expertise, and his team at CEI/University of Cincinnati has the largest ocular surface transplant program in the world.

A frequent lecturer around the world, Dr. Holland has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles. He was the co-principal investigator of the largest cornea clinical trial ever conducted, the Cornea Donor Study, and is co-editor of Cornea, a textbook on corneal disease and surgery.

Dr. Holland is a past president of ASCRS, a former member of the Executive Committee, the current Program Chair, and a past member of the AAO’s Board of Trustees and Secretariat of the annual meeting. Among his national and international awards are the Cornea Society’s Castroviejo Award and AAO’s Honor Award, Senior Achievement Award and Life Achievement Honor Award. ASCRS bestowed him with the Binkhorst Medal, and he received the Paton Society Award from the Eye Bank Association of America.

CAROL L. KARP, MD

Expert and pioneer in the management of ocular surface, oncology and anterior segment surgery, Carol L. Karp, MD, holds the Richard K. Forster Chair in Ophthalmology, and Dr. Ronald and Alicia Lepke Endowed Professorship in Corneal and External Diseases at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. Her groundbreaking work using interferon for the treatment for ocular surface squamous neoplasia in the 1990s ushered in a change to the then surgical standard of care.

As an ocular surface oncology researcher, she has several landmark articles on the topic to her credit. She continues to focus on the management of ocular surface tumors and ultra-high resolution OCT imaging of these tumors, lecturing and teaching nationally and internationally on the topic. Highlights from her significant list of awards and recognition are AAO’s Secretariat and Senior Achievement Awards and the Mentorship Award from Women in Ophthalmology and the American Medical Association Women Physicians Sector. She is an associate examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology and co-director of the Inter-American Course in Clinical Ophthalmology (Curso).

DOUGLAS KOCH, MD

Douglas Koch, MD, is a professor and chair in ophthalmology at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. His main professional focus has been on cataract and refractive surgery, including LASIK and PRK, and their respective potential complications. Avoiding them has taught him the critical value of precision in measurement, patient selection and surgical maneuvers to optimize final outcomes. Dr. Koch also specializes in managing complications such as iris repair and replacement, as well as cataract and IOL difficulties.

He is a dedicated research clinician and teacher, offering his expertise to ophthalmology students worldwide, and is author of more than 200 articles and chapters. He has given 31 named lectures including the AAO’s Kelman, Binkhorst and Barraquer Lectures and the Kelman Innovators Lecture at ASCRS. He is editor emeritus of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery and past president of the American Ophthalmological Society, ASCRS and the International Intraocular Implant Club.

Dr. Koch’s latest investigations concern the visual effect of centration and cyclorotation and wavefront-guided correction on people who have had previous procedures such as IOL implantation or radial keratotomy.

JOHN LADAS, MD, PHD

John Ladas, MD, PhD, practices at Maryland Eye Consultants and Surgeons and is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye Institute.

His research centers on IOL calculation formulas and their improvement using artificial intelligence-learned algorithms. Dr. Ladas’ methodology has been incorporated in his proprietary formula, the Ladas Super Formula, and has been shown to be one of the most accurate, according to a review in the Annals of Eye Science. The formula can be surgeon adjusted and is available free of charge online; the formula’s website and application has more than 5,600 users.

Dr. Ladas has published multiple papers on the topic and has given invited lectures around the globe.

MICHAEL A. LEMP, MD

Clinical professor of ophthalmology at Georgetown University and George Washington University schools of medicine, Michael A. Lemp, MD, is a cofounder of the Cornea Service at Georgetown and founding editor of The Ocular Surface.

His major areas of research interest include dry eye, the ocular surface, corneal and cataract surgery, contact lenses and laser. Dr. Lemp’s early work helped to establish dry eye as a bona fide disease, and he has been instrumental in research into the significance of and measurement strategies for quantifying tear film osmolarity. As a result, he helped to establish Tear Lab osmolarity testing, originally serving as the company’s chief medical officer. He has authored more the 165 scientific papers and four books, including The Dry Eye and Clinical Anatomy of the Eye.

Dr. Lemp has been a visiting professor at more than 40 universities in the United States and overseas, has delivered eight named lectureships, holds patents for several new surgical instruments and is a scientific reviewer for seven ophthalmic journals. He has received a number of national and international awards, including the Castroviejo Medal, the highest honor in the field of corneal research for lifetime achievement.

RICHARD LINDSTROM, MD

Richard Lindstrom, MD, graduated from University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts in 1972 with high honors. In 1980, he return to join the faculty with an MD and a passion for eye surgery. After 9 years as a full-time professor in UM’s Department of Ophthalmology, he shifted to adjunct clinical professor emeritus and founded Minnesota Eye Consultants, where he serves as attending surgeon.

Since then, Dr. Lindstrom’s abundant contributions to ophthalmology have garnered international recognition, and include stints as president of the IRSC, IIIC, ISRS and ASCRS, as well as extensive work teaching, researching, writing about and developing techniques to drive forward the evolution of ophthalmic surgery. His innovations include surgical instruments, IOLs and corneal preservation solutions, and he’s received more than 40 patents for them. Among his many honors, Dr. Lindstrom received the first lifetime achievement award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery, followed by a second one.

RICHARD J. MACKOOL, MD

Founder and director of The Mackool Eye Institute and Laser Center in New York City’s Queens borough, Richard J. Mackool, MD, is famous for running New York’s first eye-care center to perform eye surgery and laser treatment without hospitalization. He has been in practice since 1973 and is internationally regarded as an expert on microsurgery. Dr. Mackool is a professor of ophthalmic surgery at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and NYU Medical Center.

As a holder of more than 50 patents, Dr. Mackool is an inventor of computerized microsurgical instruments and techniques for cataract removal, myopia and astigmatism. Along with publishing numerous scientific papers and textbooks, he has lectured throughout the United States and overseas with surgeons traveling from across the globe to attend his courses.

MARGUERITE MCDONALD, MD, FACS

A pioneer of ophthalmology, Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS, is the first person to develop and perform vision-correction surgery using the excimer laser. Versions of her photorefractive keratectomy procedure would go on to be used in millions of patients. She was also instrumental in the development of epikeratophakia, synthetic keratophakia, epi-LASIK and conductive keratoplasty, and she holds several patents in corneal and refractive surgery.

Dr. McDonald has received more than 90 professional recognition awards, including the ISRK Lans Distinguished Refractive Surgeon Lecture, the ISRK/AAO Barraquer Lecture, the AAO Whitney Sampson Lecture, the AAO Binkhorst Lecture and the ASCRS Steinert Lecture.

Dr. McDonald is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at NYU and New Orleans’ Tulane University, partner at Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island and staff physician at Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital, among others. She served as the first female president of ASCRS and later became the first woman to lead the ISRS. A longtime advocate for the role of women in ophthalmology, Dr. McDonald helped found and lead the International Association of Women Eye Surgeons and served as president of the Association of Women Eye Surgeons.

JOAN W. MILLER, MD

Joan W. Miller, MD, is ophthalmologist-in-chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, chair of Harvard Ophthalmology and chief of ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear and Mass General Hospital. As an internationally recognized expert on retinal disorders, she helped pioneer the use of photodynamic therapy with verteporfin, the first approved pharmacological therapy to slow AMD-related vision loss. Her group at Mass Eye and Ear identified the key role of VEGF in ocular neovascularization, leading to the development of anti-VEGF therapies. Dr. Miller currently focuses on the genetics and early intervention in AMD as well as neuroprotective therapies for retinal diseases.

Dr. Miller is the first woman to become professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and the first woman to chair the Department of Ophthalmology. She is also the first woman appointed as chief of ophthalmology at both Mass Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital. She co-directs Mass Eye and Ear’s Angiogenesis Laboratory.

Her numerous prestigious honors and awards include being a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a co-recipient of the António Champalimaud Vision Award, the highest distinction in ophthalmology and visual science.

ROBERT OSHER, MD

With a Kelman, a Binkhorst, a Ridley and an AAO Lifetime Achievement Award, among others, innovator Robert Osher, MD, is not lacking in recognition from his peers. A professor of ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Dr. Osher is also medical director emeritus of the Cincinnati Eye Institute and the founder and editor of the Video Journal of Cataract, Refractive & Glaucoma Surgery, the first medical video journal.

Dr. Osher has designed more than 75 ophthalmic surgical instruments and techniques to use them as well as several IOLs, including the Osher-Fenzl IOL. In the late 1980s, he combined phacoemulsification with astigmatic keratotomy and performed the first refractive cataract surgery, which used relaxing incisions to reduce pre-existing astigmatism. He also modified a phacoemulsification machine to perform the first hyperopic clear lensectomy, altering the device’s control parameters to produce less-disruptive “slow-motion” phaco.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Osher received perhaps his most singular award due to his insistent challenging of ophthalmology’s status quo — he was named “a young Kelman” by the inventor of phacoemulsification himself, Dr. Charles Kelman.

STEPHEN C. PFLUGFELDER, MD

Current ARVO President Stephen C. Pflugfelder, MD, is professor, James and Margaret Elkins Chair and the founder and director of the Ocular Surface Center at the Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

His group is responsible for seminal work in ocular surface disease, identifying an inflammatory component in dry eye. The discovery has informed his career focus on the pathogenesis of desiccation-induced inflammation and autoimmunity on the ocular surface. He has participated in numerous clinical trials, is co-editor of Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disorders and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Pflugfelder is past president of the International Ocular Surface Society and serves on the editorial boards of The Ocular Surface, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Scientific Reports. He has given numerous notable keynote lectures, including AAO’s Jackson Memorial Lecture and the ASCRS Binkhorst Lecture.

PHILIP J. ROSENFELD, MD

Philip J. Rosenfeld, MD, is professor of ophthalmology at Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and a specialist in vitreoretinal diseases. He was the principal investigator for many of the pivotal clinical trials of anti-VEGF agents and is a pioneer of bevacizumab to treat wet AMD. He discovered that when injected intravitreally, the metastatic colorectal cancer drug could prevent blindness, arrest vision deterioration and lead to vision gains in some patients. It has since become a cost-saving standard of care.

Dr. Rosenfeld’s ARVO-supported work has informed clinical approaches using OCT-guided therapy, with vision gains for patients and enormous financial benefits for Medicare. He has shared these findings with Congress and created numerous treatment algorithms used in patient care and research. Dr. Rosenfeld is currently focused on developing novel therapies for dry AMD, and he is a primary investigator in a study of macular telangiectasia type 2 or MacTel. A well-respected educator, Dr. Rosenfeld lectures extensively and has trained legions of medical retina specialists. He has received the AAO’s Senior Achievement and Secretariat Awards, the Macula Society’s Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award, the Heed Award, the ASRS Founders Award and the J. Donald Gass Award from the Retina Society.

STEVEN SCHALLHORN, MD

Steven Schallhorn, MD, retired US Navy Captain and aviator, performs eye care at Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute in San Diego. An expert in refractive surgery, he is a sought-after teacher instrumental in key studies of the safety and effectiveness of refractive surgery and vision quality. Dr. Schallhorn has authored 33 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles and has presented more than 200 papers.

Dr. Schallhorn directed the Naval Medical Center-San Diego and founded the Department of Defense refractive surgery program that offers laser vision correction to active-duty personnel at more than 20 centers. The first surgeon in the Department of Defense to perform PRK and LASIK, he was pivotal in NASA’s LASIK approval. A TOP GUN instructor, he was interviewed by the screenwriter of the movie of the same name as background for the film.

He received the Navy Commendation, Achievement, Humanitarian and Expeditionary Medal and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine. He was recognized as ISRS/AAO’s Lans Distinguished Refractive Surgeon and is a two-time recipient of the highest non-combat medal in the military for performance of meritorious service to the United States for his work in refractive surgery.

THEO SEILER, MD, PHD

An innovator active in the early days of refractive laser surgery and corneal cross-linking, Theo Seiler, MD, PhD, is professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, where he specializes in ophthalmic lasers, corneal and refractive interventions, anterior segment surgery and physiologic optics.

He is founder and chief medical officer for the nearby Institute of Refractive and Ophthalmic Surgery eye clinic. His wide influence across the specialty is due in part to his popularity as an international speaker and teacher, educating new corneal and refractive surgeons in the latest, best techniques.

Dr. Seiler has been honored as a Kelman Innovator’s Lecturer by ASCRS and earned Binkhorst and Barraquer Awards from the AAO. With a degree in physics prior to starting medical school, Dr. Seiler was instrumental in developing the first clinical pulsed dye laser.

CAROL L. SHIELDS, MD

A professor of ophthalmology at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University, Carol L. Shields, MD, is a world-renowned ocular oncologist who directs the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. The post affords her the daily opportunity to advance her understanding of pediatric retinoblastoma, adult melanoma and orbital and conjunctival tumors. A summa cum laude graduate of Notre Dame, Dr. Shields went on to become the first woman to garner the Dutch Ophthalmological Society’s Donders Medal for excellence in the field.

She has written or cowritten 12 textbooks and more than 1,500 articles and 300 chapters on the clinical features and treatment of retinoblastoma, and she was one of the first to explore intravitreal chemotherapy, intra-arterial chemotherapy, sub-Tenon chemotherapy and intravenous chemoreduction to treat eye cancer. She has used her customized miniature radiotherapy instrument to irradiate intraocular melanomas, thereby saving the sight of many patients.

Dr. Shields has given more than 700 lectureships, received the Marshall M. Parks Medal and AAO’s Life Achievement Honor Award, and she was the first elected president of the International Society of Ocular Oncology.

STEPHEN G. SLADE, MD

Anterior segment surgeon Stephen G. Slade, MD, is in private practice at Slade & Baker Vision in Houston. A well-known innovator in refractive and cataract surgery, he performed the first LASIK procedure and the first laser cataract surgery procedure in the United States.

Dr. Slade has the nation’s first and longest experience with all-laser LASIK, the Crystalens accommodating lens (Bausch + Lomb) and implantable contact lens, and he was a lead investigator for the FDA trials of the latter two developments. Because so many eye surgeons (450) have chosen him for their own surgery, he has been called the “surgeon’s surgeon.” He has taught LASIK to more than 8,000 surgeons worldwide.

Dr. Slade has been included in lists such as “Best Doctors,” “Best Doctors in America” and “Top Doctors in Texas.” Among his numerous awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award, Refractive Surgeon of the Year, the Pioneer of Refractive Surgery Award, two China Service Medals, the Lans Lectureship and the Casebeer Award. He has 12 named lectures, published a plethora of articles, authored five refractive surgery textbooks and multiple book chapters.

ROBERT WEINREB, MD

World-renowned clinician, scientist, teacher and surgeon Robert Weinreb, MD, is chairman and distinguished professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, as well as director of the Shiley Eye Institute and director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center. He holds the Morris Gleich MD Chair of Glaucoma and is appointed as distinguished professor of bioengineering.

As is fitting his perch as a leader in the field, he has been president of AGS Foundation as well as the Pan-American Glaucoma Society, holding top posts at all the major ophthalmic organizations in glaucoma, ARVO, AGS and the World Glaucoma Association. His clinical and research interests are diverse, ranging from the front of the eye to the back, including glaucoma surgery, optic neuropathy and the aging eye, imaging of the optic disc and retinal nerve fiber layer, mechanisms of optic nerve damage in glaucoma, neuroprotection of glaucoma and cataract surgery. He has more than 1,000 publications to his name and serves on 31 editorial boards.

Dr. Weinreb’s list of awards includes the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Award, the Research to Prevent Blindness Physician-Scientist Award, Founder’s Award of the WGA and AAO Life Achievement Honor Award. He has trained more than 150 post-doctoral fellows in glaucoma, 21 of whom are department chairs. OM