Top Honors at AAO

The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting is the largest and most comprehensive ophthalmic education meeting in the world. Bascom Palmer’s faculty, residents, and fellows offered more than 180 presentations, posters, and symposiums at the 2022 meeting held in Chicago.

The Society of Heed Fellows presented its prestigious HeedGutman Award to EDUARDO

C. ALFONSO, M.D , during the AAO meeting in recognition of his extraordinary and distinguished leadership in ophthalmology as well as his major clinical, research, and educational contributions to the field. He shares the 2022 Heed-Gutman Award with Mark W. Johnson, M.D., (fellow 1990). Last year’s recipient, James Chodosh, M.D., M.P.H., was also a graduate of the Bascom Palmer training program (fellow 1993).

The 2022 Charles L. Schepens, M.D. Award, the highest award in the field of retina, was presented to PHILIP J. ROSENFELD, M.D., PH.D. A world-renown expert on age-related macular degeneration and optical coherence tomography, this award recognized Rosenfeld’s groundbreaking contributions to the field.

CAROL L. KARP, M.D., received the 2022 Castroviejo Award, which is given to the most outstanding individual in the field of cornea and anterior segment of the eye. She is only the third woman to receive the award since its inception in 1975.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the site of the XXXV Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) congress. Congratulations to EDUARDO C. ALFONSO, M.D., for delivering the Gradle Lecture, a lecture that is presented by the person who most exemplifies excellence, promotes best practices in education, demonstrates positive international relationships, and leads in the field of ophthalmology. Alfonso’s lecture was entitled, “Virtual Care = Better Care.” While at the PAAO congress, Alfonso was named an honorary member of the Consejo Argentino de Oftalmologia (CAO).

The 2023 American Journal of Ophthalmology Lecture is also a tradition at the PAAO congress. Felipe A. Medeiros, M.D., Ph.D., presented his lecture, “The Wonders of AI in the Eye.”

ZELIA CORREA, M.D., PH.D., received the 20 Years of the Curso de Liderazgo Award 2003-2023 and CAROL L. KARP, M.D., was acknowledged for her dedication to the PAAO as the Englishlanguage secretary of the scientific committee.

Heed Fellowships for 2022-23 have been awarded to Bascom Palmer’s oculoplastics fellow BENYAM KINDE, M.D., PH.D.; glaucoma fellow ALCINA LIDDER, M.D ; and retina fellows ANNE L. KUNKLER, M.D., JESSE D. SENGILLO, M.D., and BENJAMIN FOWLER, M.D., (resident 2021). One of the most prestigious honors for post-graduate studies in ophthalmology, the Heed Fellowship is granted to outstanding ophthalmology residents who demonstrate promise in an academic medical career in patient care, education, and research.

Faculty Named Nation’s Best

Thirty-six Bascom Palmer Eye Institute physicians are included in America’s Top Doctors. The doctors on this list are selected by their peers throughout the country for their medical expertise and skill.

Vitreoretinal Diseases

Thomas A. Albini, M.D.

Audina M. Berrocal, M.D.

Janet L. Davis, M.D.

Sander Dubovy, M.D.

Yale L. Fisher, M.D.

Harry W. Flynn Jr., M.D.

Jaclyn L. Kovach, M.D.

Philip J. Rosenfeld, M.D., Ph.D.

Stephen G. Schwartz, M.D., M.B.A.

William E. Smiddy, M.D.

Basil K. Willliams Jr., M.D.

Corneal and External Diseases

Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D.

Guillermo Amescua, M.D

Victoria S. Chang, M.D.

Having recently completed two consecutive appointments to the National Advisory Board of the National Institutes of Health/ National Eye Institute (NIH/NEI), EDUARDO

C. ALFONSO, M.D., has been nominated and elected by his peers to serve on the national board of directors of the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research and Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR/ AEVR), non-profit advocacy organizations whose missions are to achieve the best eye and vision care for all Americans through advocacy and public education.

William W. Culbertson, M.D.

Kendall E. Donaldson, M.D., M.S.

Carol L. Karp, M.D.

Terrence P. O’Brien, M.D.

Sonia Yoo, M.D.

Angela Y. Zhu, M.D.

Glaucoma

Ta Chen Peter Chang, M.D.

Steven J. Gedde, M.D.

David S. Greenfield, M.D.

Elizabeth A. Hodapp, M.D.

Richard K. Parrish II, M.D.

Sarah R. Wellik, M.D.

Neuro-Ophthalmology

Hong Jiang, M.D.

Byron L. Lam, M.D.

As part of the advisory board of the NIH/NEI, Alfonso was tasked with assessing the U.S. Congress’ annual appropriation of between $600-700 million to the NIH/NEI for research and developing a strategic plan. His responsibilities on the NAEVR/AEVR board will focus on securing new funding from government entities and private foundations. “It is important for Bascom Palmer to maintain its national and international leadership,” said Alfonso. “We have to contribute and keep abreast of what’s happening in terms of eye research so eye care professionals, healthcare advocates, and industry can move in the same direction and achieve common strategic goals.” Whether introducing new therapies for patients, deploying new technology, conducting leading-edge research, or addressing escalating healthcare costs, Bascom Palmer and the NAEVR/AEVR are looking to the future.

Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Chrisfouad R. Alabiad, M.D.

Thomas E. Johnson, M.D.

Wendy Lee, M.D.

David T. Tse, M.D.

Sara T. Wester, M.D.

Pediatric Ophthalmology

Hilda Capó, M.D.

Kara Cavuoto, M.D.

Craig A. McKeown, M.D.

The Florida Society of Ophthalmologists honored its members at its 2022 annual business meeting. SARAH

R. WELLIK, M.D., received the John R. Brayton Jr., M.D. Leadership Award for her leadership and dedication to the profession. Wellik served as president of the FSO from 2020-2021. The James W. Clower Jr., M.D. Community Service Award was presented to RAQUEL GOLDHARDT, M.D., in recognition of her service. Goldhardt has led health fair vision screenings throughout Florida as well as mission trips to underserved areas in Mexico and South America, including the Darwin Eye Project in the Galapagos. She currently serves as FSO’s vice president of advocacy. Goldhardt follows ZUBAIR ANSARI, M.D., who received the Clower Award in 2021. Throughout his training and career, Ansari’s primary focus has been global ophthalmology – working to combat the evergrowing prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in resource-poor communities. Also, in 2021, cornea specialist VICTORIA CHANG, M.D., received the Michael R. Redmond, M.D. Outstanding Young Ophthalmologist Leadership Award.

Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization, presented the 2022 “Rising Visionary Award” to MARISSA

K. SHOJI, M.D., a third-year resident. Shoji’s winning essay, “A Guiding Light: A Vision for the Future,” addressed racial and gender disparities in eye care and outlined the need for a national program focusing on fostering diversity in ophthalmology.

Research Scholarship Established

Congratulations to MARK T. DUNBAR, O.D., for receiving a service excellence award from the Healthnetwork Foundation for his outstanding work in making a significant difference in their members’ lives.

Generously funded by Joyce and Robert Rice and named in honor of two Bascom Palmer physicians and professors, the Dr. Larry J. Singerman and Dr. Stephen G. Schwartz Research Scholarship was established to provide medical students with a high-impact research experience at Bascom Palmer. Designed for students during their professional education, each scholar will work with a mentor at Bascom Palmer in conducting basic, translational, or clinical research. In its inaugural year, 46 medical students applied for the scholarship and five were selected to begin this fall: Osmel Alvarez, Jason Greenfield, Parastou Pakravan, Madison Weiss, and Gelilah Yohannes. Each student will have a clinical or scientific mentor whose goal is to establish the trainee as an independent researcher. SWARUP SWAMINATHAN, M.D., CAROL L. KARP, M.D., BASIL WILLIAMS JR., M.D., ABIGAIL S. HACKAM, PH.D., and AHN H. PHAM, M.D., PH.D., will serve as mentors.

Congratulations to BASIL WILLIAMS JR., M.D., who recently won a diversity, equity, and inclusion mini-grant from the University of Miami Office of Faculty Affairs for his project: Handling Discrimination in the Workplace.

Congratulations to PAUL PALMBERG, M.D., PH.D., who was recognized as the Guest of Honor at the 2023 American Glaucoma Society (AGS) meeting. An outstanding clinician and educator, Palmberg is credited with clarifying diabetes’ impact on glaucoma. Additionally, his participation in glaucoma surgery innovation resulted in his coining the term “target pressure” in 1988, a term used worldwide to designate a therapeutic goal in the treatment of glaucoma. Kudos also to ALANA GRAJEWSKI, M.D., for receiving the Humanitarian Award at the meeting in recognition of her efforts to preserve vision and improve the quality of life for children with pediatric glaucoma. Also at the AGS meeting, STEVEN J. GEDDE, M.D., was elected as the vice president beginning in 2024 and will assume the presidency in 2025. He will be the third Bascom Palmer faculty member to lead the organization. Professor emeritus of ophthalmology, DOUGLAS R. ANDERSON, M.D., was president in 1991-1992, and DAVID S. GREENFIELD, M.D., the Douglas R. Anderson Chair in Ophthalmology, served in 2015-2016.