Message from the Chair
I am truly delighted to welcome you to the re-launched InSight newsletter. We have a great deal of exciting news to share with you!
First and foremost, we are thrilled to announce the establishment of the Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center. Supported by an extraordinarily generous gift from long-time department friend and supporter Angie Karalis Johnson, this combined clinical and research center will open in the fall of 2018 on the South Lake Union campus. Combining clinical care for retinal diseases (particularly macular degeneration) with proximity to the state-of-the-art research of our faculty at that site, we will be able to offer our community the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options for retinal disease anywhere in the country, in a beautiful, brand-new space.
Another story in this quarter's InSight highlights some of the great research being done by our adjunct faculty in the University of Washington Medical School. The laboratories of Drs. Tom Reh, Rachel Wong, and Fred Rieke (all three Adjunct Professors of Ophthalmology) teamed up to publish a landmark study in the world's most prestigious scientific journal, Nature, demonstrating that cells in the mammalian retina could be reprogrammed to replace damaged cells. This work extends decades of research in the Reh laboratory on retinal development and stem cell biology, and highlights the tremendous faculty in vision sciences at University of Washington.
In this issue we also feature a new program we launched this year with the Lions Clubs, called the Lions Gift of Sight. Due to a change in Washington laws, we are now able for the first time to 'recycle' used glasses and provide them free-of-charge to our patients in need. This wonderful program launched in the spring of this year and is proving a success.
Finally, we welcomed our new resident class in the summer; and we are very pleased to introduce you to these outstanding young ophthalmologists-in-training.
I thank you for your interest in our department, and hope you enjoy the new format of our newsletter!
Current Stories
The Department of Ophthalmology is thrilled to announce that Ms. Angie Karalis Johnson has committed a substantial gift allowing the creation of the Roger H. and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center
The UW Medicine Eye Institute launches program to provide eyeglasses to patients who qualify for financial assistance.
Faculty publish landmark retinal regeneration paper in Nature.
Our education program for medical students, residents and fellows in ophthalmology continues to grow.
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