2018 Annual Meeting and Alumni Reunion
Harvard Ophthalmology Alumni Reunion Co-chairs
Joan W. Miller, MD
David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology, and Chair, Harvard Department of
Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School; Chief of Ophthalmology, Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass
General Hospital
Dr. Joan W. Miller earned her medical degree and received her ophthalmology residency training from
Harvard Medical School, and then completed fellowships in ophthalmology research and vitreoretinal
surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear. She was the first female physician to achieve the rank of Professor
of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and the first woman to chair Harvard Department of
Ophthalmology.. Dr. Miller is also the first woman appointed as Chief of Ophthalmology at both Mass. Eye
and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Miller’s clinical research interests focus on retinal disorders, including age-related macular degeneration
(AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Miller is credited with the development of verteporfin photodynamic
therapy (PDT; Visudyne®), the first pharmacologic therapy for AMD; co-discovering the importance of
vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in intraocular disease, which formed the basis of current anti-
angiogenic ophthalmic therapies. Dr. Miller continues to elucidate the pathophysiology of vision loss and
develop improved therapies for retinal disease—her current investigations include focus on the genetics of
AMD, strategies for early intervention in AMD, and neuroprotective therapies.
An internationally recognized expert in the field of retina, Dr. Miller has published over more than 200
peer-reviewed papers, 80 book chapters, review articles, and editorials. She is a member of the National
Academy of Medicine, the Academia Ophthalmologica lnternationalis, and the Dowling Society, as well as a
Gold Fellow of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Among her numerous honors,
Dr. Miller delivered the 2012 Edward Jackson Lecture for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and was
a co-recipient of the 2014 António Champalimaud Vision Award, the highest distinction in ophthalmology
and visual science. In 2015, Dr. Miller became the first woman to receive the Mildred Weisenfeld Award for
Excellence in Ophthalmology from ARVO.
Joseph F. Rizzo III, MD
David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology in the Field of Neuro-Ophthalmology
and Director of Alumni, Harvard Department of Ophthalmology; Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology
Service, Mass. Eye and Ear
Dr. Joseph Rizzo is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Louisiana State University Medical School,
where he received the “Dean’s Award” in recognition of outstanding leadership and performance. He
completed an internship in adult medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center,
followed by a neurology residency at Tufts University - New England Medical Center, and an ophthalmology
residency at Boston University. He then performed a clinical fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology under Dr.
Simmons Lessell at Mass. Eye and Ear. He is board certified in both ophthalmology and neurology.
Dr. Rizzo joined Mass. Eye and Ear in 1986 and received a five-year Physician Training Award from the
National Institutes of Health. The laboratory training was under the supervision of Dr. Richard Masland. In
1988, Dr. Rizzo initiated, and has since served as Co-director, to the Retinal Implant Project, a joint effort
of MIT, Mass. Eye and Ear, Boston VA, and Cornell University to develop a retinal prosthesis to restore
some vision to the blind. In addition to an active clinical practice, Dr. Rizzo has served as Director of
the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service at Mass. Eye and Ear and Director of Alumni, Harvard Department of
Ophthalmology. He also founded two companies, Bionic Eye Technologies and Visus Technology, which are
developing devices to assist the visually-impaired.
Each year, Dr. Rizzo supervises and teaches three clinical fellows and eight residents in the basic evaluation
and management of neuro-ophthalmic disorders. As Director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, he also
designs and provides oversight for the fellowship program in Neuro-Ophthalmology. For more than 25 years,
he directed the Neuro-Ophthalmology section of the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology, which is the
oldest and largest educational course that is designed for residents-in-training.
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