Three ophthalmology faculty members were honored last month at the 26th annual celebration for the Eleanor and Miles Shore Faculty Development Awards. These fellowship and distinguished scholar awards support the academic success of junior faculty who are balancing early careers with significant responsibilities. Funded by Harvard, affiliate institutions, and/or private donors, the awards may be used for protected time from clinical, teaching, or other responsibilities to pursue academic work. Congratulations to our awardees:
Yihe Chen, MD, Instructor in Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and an Investigator at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, received the 2021 Mass Eye and Ear Alice J. Adler Fellowship. With this funding, Dr. Chen will investigate the pathogenic functions of immunological memory—a process mediated by long-lived memory white blood cells—in chronic uveitis.
Courtney L. Ondeck, MD, MPhil, Instructor in Ophthalmology at HMS and a clinician scientist at Mass Eye and Ear, recieved the 2021 Mass Eye and Ear Fellowship Award. This award will support her research on the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of a latanoprost-eluting contact lens for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Jia Yin, MD, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at HMS and Associate Director of the Cornea Fellowship at Mass Eye and Ear, received the 2021 Mass General Hospital Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award. This award provides transitional funding to increase opportunities for women to advance to senior positions in academic medicine. Dr. Yin plans to investigate the neuro-regulation of corneal angiogenesis.