Message from the Chair Spring 2024
Welcome to the Spring 2024 edition of the Department of Ophthalmology InSight Newsletter. As our 2023-24 academic year nears its close, we look forward to the 50th annual Resident Alumni Day (RAD) on Saturday, June 15, at the South Lake Union campus. Raj Apte, MD, PhD from Washington University will be our keynote speaker as the Roger Johnson Macular Degeneration Award winner this year. We are also starting a new feature for RAD this year, honoring a distinguished alumnus from our program for their contributions with an Alumni Spotlight lecture. Matt Oliva, MD (residency class of 2003) will be our inaugural speaker and provide insight into his many years of service with the Himalayan Cataract Project.
The research spotlight in this issue shines on Research Associate Professor Ethan Buhr, PhD. The Buhr Lab in the Vision Science Center at South Lake Union has identified additional unique photoreceptors, called opsins, that allow for the cells within the retina to synchronize with sunlight.
In our patient care feature, learn more about our oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery team and their remarkable work caring for many of our most complex cases.
In our education spotlight, our faculty and residents have been active in the greater Seattle community, providing compassionate care to the unhoused and underserved and inspiring young students to consider careers in ophthalmology.
Finally, in our philanthropy spotlight, learn more about the more than 50 years of partnership between the department and the University-Ballard Lions Club. Congratulations to their club on celebrating its centennial and we deeply appreciate the Lions’ commitment to preserving vision.
On behalf of the department, thank you for your continuing support of our mission to alleviate suffering from eye disease. Please visit our website at ophthalmology.washington.edu and our new Facebook and Instagram pages for more news and updates.
Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD,
Boyd K. Bucey Chair, UW Medicine Department of Ophthalmology
Director, Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center
Director, Vision Science Center