Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation Honored with Distinguished Service Award by American Academy of Ophthalmology

 

LAS VEGAS - The American Academy of Ophthalmology will pay tribute to outstanding eye physicians and surgeons who have made significant achievements in various areas of the profession. These range from scientific innovation and humanitarian service to education and advocacy. The honorees will be recognized AAO 2015, the Academy's 119th annual meeting in Las Vegas.

 

Each year, the Academy presents a series of awards to exemplary member ophthalmologists. The most prestigious of these honors is the Laureate Recognition Award. It recognizes ophthalmologists who made exceptional scientific contributions to preventing blindness and restoring sight worldwide. This year's recipient is esteemed educator and innovator Bruce E. Spivey, M.D., M.S., M.Ed.

 

Dr. Spivey's achievements span almost every area of the profession. He was the first CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology when it split from the American Academy of Otolaryngology in1978. Under his leadership, the Academy experienced tremendous growth. It formed its charitable foundation and developed a code of ethics for the profession of ophthalmology. It also initiated the Academy's EyeCare America® public service program that provides eye exams and care for medically underserved seniors often at no out-of-pocket cost. He also led the establishment of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, the largest insurer of ophthalmologists in the United States.

 

Most recently, he served as president of the International Council of Ophthalmology, presiding over that organization's growth in global ophthalmic education. The ICO represents and serves professional associations of ophthalmologists throughout the world.

 

"Dr. Spivey's tireless work has accelerated just about every facet of the profession, helping to protect the sight of millions worldwide," said David W. Parke II, M.D., CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "The Academy and the field of ophthalmology would not be what they are today without his transformative leadership."

 

Other awards that will be presented during AAO 2015 include:

 

The Distinguished Service Award honors an individual or organization for ongoing notable service. This year's recipient is Research to Prevent Blindness. RPB has committed hundreds of millions of dollars in grant support for eye research. The organization also aided in the creation of a the National Eye Institute, part of the United States government's National Institutes of Health, and was instrumental in the creation of scores of academic departments of ophthalmology throughout the United States. RPB-supported researchers have been associated with nearly every major breakthrough in vision science in the past 50 years. 

 

For full awards descriptions, recipient biographies and information about other awards given to Academy members this year, please visit www.aao.org/awards. Known as the place "Where all of Ophthalmology Meets,"™ the Academy's annual meeting runs until Nov. 17 at the Sands Expo/Venetian in Las Vegas. It is the largest ophthalmology conference in the world.