Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Our mission is to eliminate suffering from eye disease, both in our region and the wider world. We do this by providing the highest quality medical and surgical eye care for patients, seeking new knowledge and treatments for eye diseases through rigorous research, and preparing the next generation of physicians and vision scientists to do the same.
As physicians, we take great pride in the quality and satisfaction of our care. At the UW Medicine Eye Institute, our patient satisfaction scores lead the nation. We strive to treat each patient as if they were our own family member, applying compassionate, state-of-the-art medical and surgical care for every patient, whether the case is routine or highly complicated.
Innovation is our lifeblood. We cannot hope to fulfill our mission of alleviating suffering from blinding eye disease unless we can improve the current standard of care. As the nation’s second leading recipient of research funding, the University is deep in most areas of science and engineering. Integrating the work of those scientists with the unmet clinical needs of our patients is one of our highest priorities.
The University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology will be launching a new site this fall. You input is appreciated and will help us make the site the best it can be. We would be grateful if you would complete this short survey: Go to Web survey.
Thank you for your interest in our programs. Please know we are at your service.
With best wishes,
Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD
Boyd K. Bucey Professor and Chair,
Ophthalmology
Director, UW Medicine Eye Institute
