Faculty member Janey L. Wiggs, MD, PhD, has been selected by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) to receive the 2022 Mildred Weisenfeld Award for Excellence in Ophthalmology in recognition of her distinguished scholarly contributions to the clinical practice of ophthalmology. This award was established as a tribute to Ms. Weisenfeld's outstanding contributions to the field, which include the founding of Fight for Sight in 1946.
Dr. Wiggs will receive the Weisenfeld Award and present the honorary lecture at the ARVO 2022 Annual Meeting in May. Her lecture will also be published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
Dr. Wiggs is the Paul Austin Chandler Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School; Associate Director of the Ocular Genomics Institute and the Associate Chief of Ophthalmology Clinical Research at Harvard Ophthalmology; and the Associate Director of the Howe Laboratory at Mass Eye and Ear.
An internationally renowned medical geneticist, glaucoma specialist, and clinician scientist, Dr. Wiggs studies the genetic underpinnings of glaucoma, as well as other inherited ocular disorders. Her pioneering work has led to the development of effective screening and prevention strategies for glaucoma and other inherited eye diseases. Using a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach, she has identified genetic factors that underlie various forms of glaucoma, including adult onset primary open-angle glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, juvenile open angle glaucoma, and others. Her research has provided critical new insights regarding the biology of the disease.
In the Glaucoma Service at Mass Eye and Ear, Dr. Wiggs maintains a clinical practice specializing in complex and inherited glaucoma. She also directs a clinical diagnostic laboratory, where patients are tested for mutations in genes that can cause inherited retinal disorders, early-onset glaucoma or primary optic neuropathy.
Dr. Wiggs lectures nationally and internationally and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Alcon Research Institute award, the Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, and is a member of the Glaucoma Research Society, the American Ophthalmological Society, the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, and the National Academy of Medicine.