6 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 16, 2020
DAILY NEWS ASCRS VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING
An update from the ASCRS Foundation
international volunteer plan to
learn firsthand as a young eye
surgeon the intricacies behind
global eyecare efforts. Congrat-
ulations to the 2020 grantees:
• Keri Allen, MD
• Priya Matthews, MD
• Milad Modabber, MD
• Yusra Siddiqui, MD
• Erin Sieck, MD
Thank you to our
industry partners
The ASCRS Foundation wishes
to thank the following corpora-
tions and foundations for their
continued generous support
during this unprecedented
time. We are grateful for their
unwavering philanthropic com-
mitment to our mission and to
the ophthalmology community.
For a complete listing of the
donors who make our mission
possible, click here.
Diamond Partners
• The Allergan Foundation
• Carl Zeiss Meditec
Platinum Partners
• Alcon Foundation
• Johnson & Johnson Vision
• Glaukos
• STAAR Surgical
Gold Partner
• Aerie Pharmaceuticals
their strong performance in
research, patient care, lead-
ership, and education. The
grant's purpose is to recognize
the hard work, dedication, and
ambition these high-achieving
residents bring to the field of
ophthalmology. The 2020 and
2021 awards are generously
supported by Steven Safran,
MD. Congratulations to the
2020 Resident Excellence
Award recipients:
• Kelley Bohm, MD
• Karine Bojikian, MD
• Allison Chen, MD
• Giancarlo Garcia, MD
• Mark Goerlitz-Jessen, MD
• Brent Kramer, MD
• Tracy Krick, MD
• Donovan Reed, MD
• Eric Weinlander, MD
• Caroline Wilson, MD
2020 Young Eye
Surgeons International
Service Grant
The Young Eye Surgeons In-
ternational Service Grant was
created to inspire young eye
surgeons to become involved
with global eyecare on a long-
term basis. The grant affords
the opportunity for the winners
to participate in healthcare
systems, including teaching
institutions and community
programs in developing coun-
tries. Working with the ASCRS
Foundation and its interna-
tional partners, recipients
can develop a customized
volunteered in 2019 and 2020,
click here or email Jaya Minhas
at jminhas@ascrs.org.
2020 ASCRS
Foundation Chang
Humanitarian Award
honoree: Lowell A.
Gess, MD
The ASCRS Foundation is
honored to bestow the Chang
Humanitarian Award to Lowell
A. Gess, MD. Dr. Gess' lifelong
work is truly inspirational. His
career spans so many years and
covers such a wide breadth of
the world that it can feel less
like the story of one man's
life and more like the story of
modern ophthalmology itself.
Dr. Gess has earmarked the
$50,000 grant to the Lowell
and Ruth Gess Eye Hospital
to help expand facilities and
provide a more comprehen-
sive eyecare program in Sierra
Leone.
Learn more about Dr. Gess'
story here.
Endowed by the generos-
ity of Dr. and Mrs. David and
Victoria Chang, the ASCRS
Foundation's Chang Humani-
tarian Award was established
to honor and recognize out-
standing humanitarian work in
the area of cataract blindness.
The award is given annually
to an individual for his or her
inspirational accomplishments
in the U.S. or international
charitable eyecare, with a focus
on cataract blindness. To learn
more or to read about past
recipients, click here.
2020 Resident
Excellence Award
grantees
The ASCRS Foundation
proudly presents its recipients
of the 2020 Resident Excel-
lence Award, recognized for
National Sight Week
Operation Sight, the ASCRS
Foundation's U.S.-based chari-
table cataract surgery program,
serves financially vulnerable,
uninsured Americans who
cannot afford or access care.
These members of our own
communities often rely on
others to complete daily tasks,
and if they are left untreated,
they risk debilitating vision
loss. To date, Operation Sight
has delivered more than 4,500
surgeries through our nation-
wide network of volunteer
surgeons. Our volunteers
are committed to caring for
those patients who could not
otherwise afford life-chang-
ing surgery. Currently, there
are more than 100 approved
patients on the waitlist. These
patients are waiting for a
match in their area once our
volunteers and practices can
reopen and resume performing
charitable cataract surgeries.
With the impact of the pan-
demic, and as unemployment
rates grow, we anticipate the
number of patients who will
qualify for Operation Sight
will dramatically increase. For
many patients, surgery will
give them not only the gift of
sight, but the key to regaining
employment to provide for
their families.
Once the current crisis
passes, the ASCRS Foundation
looks forward to continuing its
work with volunteers. We are
especially excited to celebrate
National Sight Week. Every
October, National Sight Week
celebrates the impact of vol-
unteers on the lives of patients
across the country. Save the
date for this year's National
Sight Week, which will take
place Oct. 18–24, 2020.
For more information on
Operation Sight or to see the
list of ASCRS members who
