2022 Annual Meeting and Alumni Reunion
Annual Meeting and Alumni Reunion Co-chairs
Joan W . Miller , MD
Alumni Reunion Co-chair , David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology , and Chair , Department of Ophthalmology , Harvard Medical School ; Chief of Ophthalmology , Mass . Eye and Ear and Mass General Hospital ; Ophthalmologist-in-Chief , Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital
Dr . Miller earned her medical degree and received her ophthalmology residency training from Harvard Medical School ( HMS ), and then completed a vitreoretinal fellowship at Mass . Eye and Ear , joining the faculty in 1991 . She was the first female physician to achieve the rank of Professor of Ophthalmology at HMS , and the first woman to chair the Department of Ophthalmology at HMS . 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 . Over the last two decades , she and her colleagues at Mass . Eye and Ear / HMS pioneered the development of photodynamic therapy using verteporfin ( Visudyne ®), the first approved pharmacological therapy able to reduce and slow vision loss in patients with AMD . The group also identified the key role of vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) in ocular neovascularization , leading to the development of anti-VEGF therapies now administered to millions of people annually around the world .
Dr . Miller ’ s current investigations include the genetics of AMD , strategies for early intervention in AMD , and neuroprotective therapies for retinal diseases .
An internationally recognized expert in the field of retina , Dr . Miller has published nearly 220 peer-reviewed papers , 95 book chapters , review articles , and editorials . She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Academia Ophthalmologica lnternationalis . Among her numerous honors , Dr . Miller delivered the 2012 Edward Jackson Lecture for the American Academy of Ophthalmology ( AAO ), 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 ; in 2018 , she became the first woman awarded the Charles L . Schepens Award from AAO . Recently , Dr . Miller was awarded the 2018 Lucien Howe Medal from the American Ophthalmological Society , and the 2018 Gertrude D . Pyron Award from the American Society of Retinal Specialists .
Joseph F . Rizzo III , MD
Alumni Reunion Co-chair , David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology in the Field of Neuro-Ophthalmology and Director of Ophthalmology Alumni , Harvard Medical School ; Director , Neuro-Ophthalmology Service and Co-Director , Mobility Enhancement and Vision Rehabilitation Center of Excellence , Mass . Eye and Ear
Dr . 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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