2012 ARVO award recipients to be honored

Fort Lauderdale, FL-The ARVO Annual Awards and their accompanying lectures are another annual meeting highlight, and several award recipients will be acknowledged this year.

The Proctor Medal is presented for outstanding research in the basic or clinical sciences as applied to ophthalmology. This year’s recipient is Peter Sterling, PhD, of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is being honored for his distinguished career in vision research, touching on a broad range of fundamental topics and providing insight into the relation between structure and function in visual information processing. He will deliver his lecture, “Principles of Retinal Design,” Monday at 5:45 p.m.

The Friedenwald Award is presented for outstanding research in the basic or clinical sciences as applied to ophthalmology. This year’s recipient is Josh Wallman, PhD, FARVO, of City University of New York City College. Unfortunately, Dr. Wallman passed away on March 3, so there will be no Friedenwald Award Lecture this year.

Dr. Wallman was chosen for this award for his work championing the chick as an animal model for myopia. His research contributed to the acceptance that myopia is not purely genetic, with the demonstration that eye growth is locally regulated and sensitive to the visual environment. Two other key findings he made include choroidal “accommodation,” an alternative way of adjusting ocular defocus, and diurnal rhythms in eye growth, perturbation of which have been linked to abnormal eye growth.

The Weisenfeld Award is presented in recognition of distinguished scholarly contributions to the clinical practice of ophthalmology. This year’s recipient is John V. Forrester, MD, ChB, FARVO, University of Aberdeen, who is being honored for his academic publications relating to clinical ophthalmology, basic eye research, immunology, and cell biology. He will deliver his lecture, “Investigating Ophthalmology with Translational Science,” Monday at 6:45 p.m.

The Cogan Award is presented in recognition of a researcher, 40 years of age or younger, who has made important and worthwhile contributions to research in ophthalmology or visual science that are directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system, and who shows substantial promise for future research. This year’s recipient is Jeffrey L. Goldberg, MD, PhD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is being honored for laboratory research directed at neuroprotection and regeneration of retinal ganglion cells, and for contributing significant discoveries about the failure of optic nerve regeneration.

He will deliver his lecture, “Retinal Ganglion Cell Development and Regeneration,” Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.

The ARVO/Champalimaud Award Lecture will feature the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), recipient of the 2011 António Champalimaud Vision Award in the amount of 1 million Euro, for its outstanding contribution to the prevention, control, and fight against onchocerciasis.

The lecture will be given Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. The Champalimaud Award Lecture Reception will be held afterward. All attendees are welcome.

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