Bishop Term Professorship of Ophthalmology

This Bishop Term Professorship of Ophthalmology was established in 1999 by the Bishop Foundation to attract and retain talented faculty in UW Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology.

The Bishop Foundation was created in 1963 by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bishop to advance eye research and care. From 1963 to 1971, a laboratory was established at Swedish Hospital under the direction of Carteret Lawrence, M.D., a former professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital, whose research focused on glaucoma.

Later on, the Bishop Foundation became interested in work being done at UW Medicine. In 1996, Robert Rodieck, Ph.D., was appointed chief of the laboratory and pursued his work on the retina. Dr. Rodieck retired in 1997. Kris Palczewski, Ph.D., was then appointed Bishop Professor from 1999 to 2005. Jay Neitz, Ph.D., was recruited as the current holder in 2008 and he continues his research into color vision and the etiology of myopia.