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Russell N. Van Gelder, M.D., Ph.D.
Boyd K. Bucey Memorial Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology
Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology
Biography
Dr. Van Gelder received a B.S., an M.D. and a Ph.D. from Stanford University and completed a residency in ophthalmology and a fellowship in ocular inflammatory diseases at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He remained on faculty at Washington University, where he was director of residency training and subsequently director of education in ophthalmology; he was named the Bernard Becker Chair in 2006. In 2008, Dr. Van Gelder began work at the Department of Ophthalmology at UW Medicine. He’s the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and the director of the UW Medicine Eye Institute.
Dr. Van Gelder’s research has focused on two areas: non-visual photoreception and mechanisms of ocular inflammatory disease. In the former domain, he has been a leading researcher in identifying and characterizing a novel photoreceptor in the eye that transmits light information to the circadian clock in the brain, and he has published a number of high-profile publications. In ocular inflammatory disease, Dr. Van Gelder’s laboratory has been at the forefront of applying molecular diagnostics to the diagnosis of ocular inflammatory disease.
Dr. Van Gelder has won numerous honors for his research, including the the Burroughs-Wellcome Translational Scientist Award and the Physician-Scientist Award from the Culpepper Foundation. He is past president of the American Uveitis Society and serves on the board of trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is associate editor of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. He is listed in Best Doctors ® and has been honored as a top Seattle ophthalmologist by both Seattle and Seattle Metropolitan magazines.
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If you’re interested in this field, please consider making a gift to this fund through the UW Foundation.