Duke GO News

Lloyd B. Williams, MD, PhD has been awarded the 2025 Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

In an advancement for eye care in Guyana, South America, Duke Global Ophthalmology (DukeGO), in collaboration with Georgetown Public Hospital, successfully performed the nation’s first Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) corneal transplants. This milestone was achieved during a three-day mission in July, led by Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD, Director of DukeGO and an internationally recognized cornea surgeon.  This effort revived and expanded corneal transplant services in Guyana. 

Prakalapakorn represented Duke Eye Center as an invited speaker at the 2025 Asia Pacific Strabismus and Paediatric Ophthalmology Society (APSPOS) meeting in Brisbane, Australia.

Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD traveled to Yogyakarta, Indonesia on the latest Duke Global Ophthalmology mission to collaborate with Dr Sardjito Hospital. While there, he performed 16 ICL surgeries and 23 corneal transplants.

PGY1 Ophthalmology Resident Agnes Owete, MD, traveled to Portland, Oregon last week to represent the Duke Global Ophthalmology Program at the 2024 Global Ophthalmology Summit.

Miracles In Sight, which has helped fund the Duke Cornea Fellowship for a decade, recently expanded their support of the program with a generous gift that will allow us to add a fourth fellow who will be dually trained in cornea and global ophthalmology.  Aiming to make a positive and lasting impact on eye health worldwide, Duke Global Ophthalmology is shaping the future of sight saving eyecare across the globe.

Comprehensive Division Chief Anupama Horne, MD, along with two Duke Eye Technicians, Valerie Honeycutt, COT and Ashley Grant, COT teamed up with Health in Sight Mission to serve the people of Roatan, Honduras by providing eye exams, laser procedures, and cataract surgery – saving sight and improving overall health and well-being. The Duke Global Ophthalmology team is committed treating avoidable blindness and human suffering across the world. 

Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD's first Duke Global Ophthalmology Mission of 2024 brought him to Yogyakarta, Indonesia to train local ophthalmologists on corneal transplants and eye banking.

Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD and his recent work with the Himalayan Cataract project in S. Sudan were featured on streaming channel NBC News Now as part of their Good News with Kate Snow segment. This great story demonstrates the personal, emotional, and economic impact of performing sight saving surgeries in underserved areas of the world.

Director of Duke Global Ophthalmology Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD shares stories from his mission to provide sight-saving care to patients in underserved countries on the Cataract Coach podcast. Hear more about his inspiring work and the efforts of the Duke Global Ophthalmology Program to help reduce avoidable blindness and human suffering around the world.