AGS sees record attendance, honors ophthalmologists

San Diego—The 2009 annual meeting of the American Glaucoma Society (AGS) is experiencing record-setting total attendance, according to officers of the organization, with 619 members and an additional 75 attendees participating. This number represents an increase of more than 20% in total attendance over last year’s annual meeting.

In addition to hearing about the latest glaucoma-related news and research, attendees have come together to celebrate several ophthalmologists and others. Among the honors this year:

• President’s Award. H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, and William L. Rich III, MD, FACS, are the 2009 recipients of the society’s President’s Award, given to recognize an individual for “significant contributions to the glaucoma community through his or her scientific achievements, service to the society, and/or service to the profession as a whole.” Dr. Hoskins is executive vice president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), and Dr. Rich is the AAO’s medical director of health policy.

• Guest of honor. Paul L. Kaufman, MD, is the guest of honor at this year’s meeting. He is professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison.

• Clinician-Scientist Lecture. Joseph Caprioli, MD, will deliver the 2009 Clinician-Scientist Lecture on “The Importance of Rates in Glaucoma” on Saturday. The lecture is given annually by someone who “exemplifies qualities of excellence in patient care and basic research.” Dr. Caprioli is the David May II Professor of Ophthalmology, chief of the glaucoma division, and director of the glaucoma basic science and clinical laboratories at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles.

• AGS Lecture. Robert N. Weinreb, MD, delivered the AGS Lecture, titled “Getting from Here to There in Glaucoma: What is Next?” on Friday. He is the Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center at the University of California, San Diego.

• Distinguished Guest Lecture. Author Margaret George was the distinguished guest lecturer, delivering a talk Thursday night titled “From the Banks of the Nile to the Tower of London: Adventures of a Historical Novelist, the Poor Man’s Indiana Jones.”

• Research Fellowship Awards. The society also announced three Young Physician-Scientist awards and four Mid-Career Physician-Scientist Awards at its annual business meeting Friday. Receiving Young Physician-Scientist Awards were Michael Boland, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University; Farnaz Memarzadeh, MD, of the University of Southern California; and Joshua Stein, MD, MS, of the University of Michigan. Receiving Mid-Career Physician-Scientist Awards were Edward Barnett, MD, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis; Cynthia Grosskreutz, MD, PhD, of Harvard; Young Kwon, MD, PhD, of the University of Iowa; and Darrell WuDunn, MD, PhD, of Indiana University.

The 2010 annual meeting will be March 4 to 7 at the Naples Grande Beach Resort, Naples, FL. For more information, visit www.americanglaucomasociety.net or e-mail ags@aao.org. The society recently established the first weekend in March as the time for its yearly gathering.