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Eduardo C. Alfonso, MD, Trustee
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Julia A. Haller, MD, Trustee
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Paul Sternberg, MD, Chair, Trustee
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Russell Van Gelder, MD, PhD, Trustee
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David J. Wilson, MD, Trustee
Eduardo C. Alfonso, MD, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute's patient care facilities, Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital in Miami, and outpatient facilities in Palm Beach Gardens, Plantation and Naples, Florida, is one of the most recognized ophthalmologists in the world. Holder of the Edward W. D. Norton Professor of Ophthalmology, he is known for his clinical expertise in diseases and surgery of the cornea and ocular microbiology and laser vision correction. He has published numerous articles in refereed journals, chapters, and has been guest lecturer nationally and internationally. He is fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology where he has been awarded the distinguished honor award and senior honor award. He has been named as one of America's Top Doctors since 1992. Dr. Alfonso graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 1976. He graduated from Yale Medical School in 1980. His ophthalmology residency was completed at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed fellowships in cornea and ocular pathology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School.
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Dr. Julia A. Haller, MD, is Ophthalmologist-in-Chief of the Wills Eye Institute, where she holds the William Tasman, M.D. Endowed Chair. She serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. She was educated at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Princeton University, and Harvard Medical School. She was an ophthalmology resident, retina fellow, and the first female chief resident at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and went on to hold both the Katharine Graham and Robert Bond Welch, M.D. Professorships there before assuming leadership at Wills.
Her honors include the Rolex Achievement Award (to a past participant in collegiate varsity lacrosse), the Crystal Apple Award of the American Society of Retina Specialists for teaching and mentorship, the Kreissig Award from EURETINA, the President's Award from Women in Ophthalmology, a Secretariat Award from the AAO, the Gertrude Pyron Award from the Retina Research Foundation and the ASRS, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the AAO.
Dr. Haller has published over 250 papers in the peer reviewed literature as well as 22 book chapters. She is past president of the American Society of Retina Specialists, Vice-President and President Elect of the Retina Society, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Macula Society and the Board of Trustees of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology. She serves on the editorial boards of RETINA, Retinal Physician, Retina Times, Ocular Surgery News, Retina Today, Ophthalmology Times, EyeWorld, and Evidence-Based Eye Care.
Dr. Haller serves on the Board of the American Retina Foundation, the Board of the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research, and the Board of Trustees of Princeton University.
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Paul Sternberg, MD, is the G. W. Hale Professor and Chairman of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a renowned retinal specialist, and has been named one of the Best Doctors in America for both medical and surgical retinal conditions every year since 1994. Dr. Sternberg also maintains an active academic and research program, studying the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. He has authored more than 230 scientific articles and 30 book chapters, and received research funding from the NIH, numerous foundations, and industry. Honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Award, the Lew Wasserman Award of Merit from Research to Prevent Blindness, and the Sommer Prize from the EyeCare Foundation.
Dr. Sternberg has served on the boards of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, where he was Vice President, and currently serves on the board of the International Retinal Research Foundation. In 2009, he took on additional leadership responsibilities at Vanderbilt as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Chief Medical Officer, and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Adult Health Affairs. In addition, Dr. Sternberg currently is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville.
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Russell Van Gelder, MD, PhD, was born and raised in and around New York City. He earned his BS, MD, and PhD (Neurosciences) degrees from Stanford University, where he also completed medical internship. He completed his ophthalmology residency and fellowship in uveitis and medical retinal disease at Barnes/Jewish Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis. During his fellowship year (1998-1999) Dr. Van Gelder was a Heed Fellow. He served on faculty at Washington University, St. Louis for nine years, and was named to the Bernard Becker chair. In 2008, Dr. Van Gelder moved to the University of Washington, where he is presently Boyd K. Bucey Memorial Chair of Ophthalmology, and director of the UW Medicine Eye Institute.
An active clinician-scientist, Dr. Van Gelder has been continually funded from the National Institutes of Health for the past 13 years. His laboratory has made seminal contributions to the understanding of non-visual ocular photoreception, and to pathogen discovery in ocular inflammatory disease. He has received numerous honors, including career development awards from Research to Prevent Blindness, the Culpeper Foundation, and the Burroughs-Wellcome Foundation. Dr. Van Gelder is author of over 100 scientific and medical publications, and holds five patents in biotechnology. He serves on several editorial boards including the American Journal of Ophthalmology and Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science. He has served as President of the American Uveitis Society, and presently serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He lives with his wife and two children on Mercer Island, Washington.
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David J. Wilson, MD, is Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, Director of the Casey Eye Institute, and Thiele-Petti Chair in Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine @ Oregon Health & Science University. He assumed the chairmanship of ophthalmology in 2005. Before becoming chair, he served as director of the Department of Ophthalmology residency program and the retina fellowship program. He is director of the Christensen Eye Pathology Laboratory at Casey Eye Institute. As department chair, Dr. Wilson provides the institutional leadership and the clinical and academic experience necessary to continue building a program of national prominence.
Dr. Wilson is a member of the Verhoeff Society, the Macula Society, and the American Ophthalmological Society. In 2007, he began serving on the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Wilson received his bachelor's degree in chemistry at Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa) and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine (Alpha Omega Alpha). He completed his residency in ophthalmology at OHSU, a research and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Ophthalmic Consultants in Boston.
Dr. Wilson's primary areas of interest include eye pathology, clinicopathologic correlation of ocular disease, macular degeneration and surgery, and ocular oncology. As chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Wilson limits his practice to ocular oncology.
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