Heed-Gutman Award Recipients Announced
The 2020, 2021 and 2022 Heed-Gutman Awards were presented on October 1, 2022 to Dr. Anthony Adamis (2020), Dr. James Chodosh (2021), and Drs. Eduardo Alfonso and Mark Johnson - co-recipients (2022).
2022 Heed-Gutman Award Co-Recipient - Mark W. Johnson, MD
Mark is Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Director of the Retina Service at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. His chief clinical research interests include pharmacotherapies for macular diseases, pathogenesis and treatment of vitreomacular interface disorders, and vitreoretinal surgical strategies. He has served as principal investigator and Data and Safety Monitoring Committee member for numerous international multicenter clinical trials in age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular disease, and vitreoretinal disorders. He has served as President of both The Macula Society and The Retina Society, and as Director of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Retina Subspecialty Day. He lectures widely on a variety of retina topics, having delivered over 20 named lectures and more than 240 invited talks. Dr. Johnson has authored or co-authored over 225 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
2022 Heed-Gutman Award Co-Recipient - Eduardo C. Alfonso, MD
Eduardo is Director of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, and holder of the Kathleen and Stanley J. Glaser Chair at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is known for his clinical and research expertise in eye diseases, corneal surgery, ocular microbiology and administrative skills in healthcare. Born in Cuba, Dr. Alfonso grew up in Puerto Rico. He received a bachelor degree (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and medical degree from Yale University. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. This was followed by fellowships in clinical and surgical cornea at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, in ophthalmic pathology at the David G. Cogan Eye Pathology Laboratory and research at the Howe Laboratory. Dr. Alfonso is an internationally known clinical and research expert on cornea and ocular infectious diseases. He specializes in corneal transplants, having performed over 1,000 surgeries in adults and children. He helped develop the surgical and clinical applications of keratoprosthesis, an artificial cornea. He has delivered more than 25 named honor lectures. He has been an invited lecturer in over 200 national and international meetings. He serves on the editorial board of ophthalmology journals, and has authored more than 300 scientific publications. Dr. Alfonso received the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Honor Award, the Senior Achievement Award, the Life Achievement Honor Award, and the Special Recognition Award. The Pan American Ophthalmological Foundation honored him with the Ambassador for Education Award. He was named as CEO of the Year by South Florida Business, and named one of the 100 most influential leaders in South Florida. He was honored with the Florida Society of Ophthalmology leadership award in 2011. He received the ORBIS International Medical Faculty Award in 2004. He has served as director and president of the Miami Ophthalmological Society, Sociedad Iberoamericana de Cornea y Cirugia Refractiva, the Cuban Ophthalmological Society in Exile, the Ophthalmology Research Foundation, the Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group, Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology, Heed Ophthalmic Foundation and the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology. He has served or serves on the board of the Society of Heed Fellows, the Cornea Society, the International Council of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Foundation, the Florida Society of Ophthalmology, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research and the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research.
2021 Heed-Gutman Award Recipient - James Chodosh, MD, MBA
James is Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, which he joined on September 1, 2022. Prior to moving to New Mexico, he was the Edith Ives Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear. There he served as Vice Chair for Education, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Associate Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service, Associate Director of the Infectious Disease Institute, Director of the Ocular Burn Service, and Director of Boston Keratoprosthesis. He was also a member of the HMS PhD Program in Virology, and was a key author for the American Academy of Ophthalmology web pages on COVID-19, which garnered over 1.5 million views. He completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine, clinical fellowship in Corneal Diseases at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, postdoctoral research fellowship in Virology & Molecular Biology and Infectious Diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Oklahoma. He served as Chair of the Anterior Eye Disease NIH Study Section, on the National Advisory Eye Council for the NIH, and is currently Chair of the FDA Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Chodosh has published over 370 peer reviewed papers and book chapters, and was co-Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Ophthalmology. He is a recipient of the Alcon Research Institute Award, and four awards from Research to Prevent Blindness. A dedicated teacher with many teaching and mentorship awards, he personally trained over 70 clinical cornea fellows, and mentored over 20 medical students under-represented in medicine. He is internationally known and respected for his work on viral genomics and pathogenesis, and on development and use of the Boston keratoprosthesis for severe corneal blindness. His basic research program on adenovirus pathogenesis and evolution has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1996, and his current funding runs through 2027. He also invented and patented a new, low-cost keratoprosthesis, the “Lucia”, to address blindness in low resource countries. His primary clinical interests include infectious eye disease, ocular chemical injury, Stevens Johnson syndrome, and the restoration of seemingly hopeless cases of corneal blindness with the Boston keratoprosthesis. He is dedicated to improving the quality of life for every person with vision loss, and particularly those who may be otherwise underserved, and to growing diversity, equity, and inclusion in his profession of Ophthalmology.
2020 Heed-Gutman Award Recipient - Anthony Adamis, MD
Over the course of his career, Tony has helped develop 20 medicines across 30 indications, resulting in seven U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Designations and 25 FDA approvals. Tony received his MD from the University of Chicago, his ophthalmology training at the University of Michigan, and his fellowship training at Harvard University. He completed his research training in vascular biology with Judah Folkman, MD, at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Tony is best known for his co-discovery of the central role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in two leading causes of blindness: neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Conducted at Harvard in the 1990s, this research led to Tony’s shared receipt of the Antonio Champalimaud Award, the highest honor in vision science, and to his election to the National Academy of Medicine. At Eyetech and later at Genentech, Tony helped lead the development of the first anti-VEGF drugs for the treatment of nAMD, diabetic macular edema (DME), diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and myopic choroidal neovascularization. With the introduction of anti-VEGF drugs, legal blindness from nAMD and DME has been reduced by half around the world. At Genentech, Tony helped lead the development of the first long-acting delivery technology for a biologic drug (port delivery system) and the first bispecific antibody for nAMD and DME (faricimab). Both recently obtained FDA approval.