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UCLA's Dr. Demer named to Leonard Apt endowed chair
Los Angeles-Joseph L. Demer, MD, PhD, a noted authority on extraocular muscle movement, has been named the first holder of the Leonard Apt Endowed Chair in Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The chair is named for Leonard Apt, MD, the Jules Stein Eye Institute professor emeritus and founding director of the division of pediatric ophthalmology. The endowment will support the teaching and research in Dr. Apt's subspecialty.
"Dr. Demer is recognized as an outstanding clinician, researcher, and teach-er," said Dr. Apt, who pioneered the academic study of pediatric ophthalmology and was the first physician to be board-certified in both pediatrics and ophthalmology.
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology honored Dr. Demer with a Friedenwald Award in 2003. Dr. Demer also received a Recognition Award from Alcon Research Institute in 2004 for his research on extraocular muscles and orbital connective tissues.
"I'm thrilled to learn that I have been appointed the Leonard Apt Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA," Dr. Demer said in a prepared statement. "It is a great honor for me that my name will be associated with Dr. Apt's."
In addition to the endowed chair, Dr. Apt also has created the Leonard Apt Endowed Fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology at UCLA. He is the first active faculty member to be responsible for both an endowed fellowship and chair at UCLA.
The chair was established in 2003 with a gift from the trust of Frederic G. Rappaport, Dr. Apt's nephew. Dr. Apt established the fellowship in 2002 to support outstanding clinical fellows in the field of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.
