Harvard Ophthalmology was well represented at this year’s Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Imaging in the Eye Conference and Annual Meeting. More than 230 faculty and trainees participated as course instructors, panelists, and lecturers on May 6-11. View the full program.
With a central theme of “Global Connections in Vision Research,” many presentations focused on how international collaborations help bridge the gaps in scientific knowledge and advance patient care.
During the event, Harvard Ophthalmology/Mass. Eye and Ear hosted its annual Alumni Reception, which drew nearly 300 guests from across the country.
Faculty, Alumni, and Trainees Receive ARVO Awards
Ula Jurkunas, MD (pictured right), a cornea specialist and clinician scientist at Mass. Eye and Ear, received the ARVO Foundation/Pfizer Ophthalmics Carl Camras Translational Research Award, which will support her innovative research on stem cell therapy for corneal blindness. Read more
Postdoctoral fellow Julia Oswald, PhD (pictured below), presented her research on retinal ganglion cell replacement, which was named one of the “top-three most innovative and interesting” ARVO posters. As a result, she was invited to discuss her research during the ARVO press conference. Dr. Oswald works in the laboratory of Petr Baranov at Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear.
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology Magali Saint-Geniez, PhD, received an Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Grant. The award will support her research on the mechanisms behind retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction in age-related macular degeneration. Read more
Instructor in Ophthalmology Corinna Bauer, MD, PhD (pictured right), Mass. Eye and Ear, received a 2017 ARVO Foundation/Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation Travel Grant.
Alumna Johanna Seddon, MD, ScM (pictured below), who completed her ophthalmic pathology and vitreoretinal surgery fellowships at Mass. Eye and Ear, received the 2017 Mildred Weisenfeld Award for Excellence in Ophthalmology. Dr. Seddon is currently Professor and Founding Director of the Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Genetics Service at Tufts University and a former trustee and vice-president of ARVO.
Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, FARVO—an internationally recognized leader in the field of corneal immunology—was selected to receive the 2018 Friedenwald Award. This prestigious award honors outstanding research in the basic or clinical sciences as applied to ophthalmology. Read more
Additionally, Joan W. Miller, MD (pictured below) —Chair of Harvard Ophthalmology and Chief of Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass General Hospital—was inducted into the Dowling Society, and several faculty and alumni were named ARVO fellows in recognition of their accomplishments, leadership, and contributions to the association. Read more
Five trainees (pictured in groups below) also received awards. Stephanie Llop, MD, and Huy Nguyen, MD, received ARVO Foundation/Knights Templar Eye Foundation Travel Grants, and Luciano Custo Greig, MD, Fengyang Lei, MD, PhD, and Maryam Tahvildari, MD, received National Eye Institute Travel Grants.
Photo credit: Copyright Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2017. Used by permission.