Find out what's new with ASCRS and the ASCRS Foundation in the 2019 ASCRS Opening General Session. This session features the 2019 ASCRS David A. Karcher Honored Guests, ASCRS Foundation Update, Ophthalmology Hall of Fame Ceremony, and concludes with the Binkhorst Lecture by Steven C. Pflugfelder, MD.
Session Moderator
Edward J. holland, MD
Dr. Holland is the Director of Cornea Services at Cincinnati Eye Institute and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati, and formerly served as the President for ASCRS from 2011-2012. As the Director of Cornea Services at the Cincinnati Eye Institute, Dr. Holland has attracted worldwide referrals for medical and surgical corneal problems and for stem cell transplantation.
opening general session Honorees
Richard L. Litwin, MD
Chang Humanitarian Award Winner
Richard L. Litwin, MD, is in practice at the Berkeley Ophthalmology Medical Group in Berkley, California. Dr. Litwin began his ophthalmic humanitarian work in 1982 with a high-volume cataract surgery mission trip at the Aravind Eye Hospital in south India. Dr. Litwin now focuses on diplomacy; advocating internationally on behalf of humanitarian eye care organizations. In more recent years, he has developed a focus on ensuring patient safety and quality of surgical services.
Howard v. Gimbel, MD, MPH
ASCRS Ophthalmology Hall of Fame Inductee
Dr. Howard Gimbel is an ophthalmologist and pioneer in out-patient cataract and refractive eye surgery. He was the first ophthalmologist in Canada to use phacoemulsification for the removal of cataracts. He is the developer of the Divide and Conquer phacoemulsification technique and the co-developer of the Continuous-Tear Capsulotomy technique, which are accepted as international standards of excellence for their safety and effectiveness.
Phillips Thygeson, MD
ASCRS Ophthalmology Hall of Fame Inductee
Dr. Phillips Thygeson, the second distinguished American ophthalmologist to receive the Proctor Medal Award of the Association for Research in Ophthalmology, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1903. He received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine. He interned at the Colorado General Hospital in Denver. In 1931, he became a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Hal Kushner, MD, FACS
ASCRS Distinguished Member Awardee
Dr. Kushner is a practicing ophthalmologist and retired U.S. Army Medical Corps Colonel. His medical training and experience include being a military flight surgeon from 1967 to 1977 and a stint as a surgical fellow for the International Eye Foundation in Lima, Peru in 1976. Throughout the years, he has served as a visiting surgeon in Istanbul, Turkey; Haiti; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Africa; Uttar Pradesh, NE, India; and the Dominican Republic.
Stephen S. Lane, MD
ASCRS Service Awardee
Dr. Lane is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota whose expertise is in cornea/external disease, cataract/anterior segment surgery and refractive surgery. Dr. Lane is recognized in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and was also named as one of the Nation’s leading medical specialists in Best Doctors in America. He has published extensively in major peer-reviewed ophthalmic journals and books and has received numerous honors and lectureships.
