Johns Hopkins' Sommer is winner of Helen Keller vision prize

May 3

- Fort Lauderdale, FL - Alfred Sommer, MD, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and professor of ophthalmology, epidemiology, and international health, was named the 2005 recipient of the 12th annual Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research. Dr. Sommer received the award Monday at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Dr. Sommer was honored for his lifetime of dedication and accomplishment in vision research. He discovered the link between Vitamin A deficiency and childhood mortality, thus launching his career in public health and ophthalmology. He has made numerous seminal contributions in glaucoma, xerophthalmia, and cataract.

The Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research, presented by the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education, is awarded each year for research excellence as demonstrated by significant contributions throughout one's career or for a single contribution of exceptional importance. The prize includes an unrestricted honorarium of $30,000 and museum-quality portrait of Helen Keller.