Distinguished Lectures

Duke Eye Center is proud to host several endowed lectures each year made possible by our generous donors. These distinguished lectures are delivered by pioneers and innovators in the field of ophthalmology.

CME credit is not offered for these events. 

 

 

 

Lee headshot

Stephen and Frances Foster lecture

February 18, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Richard Lee, MD, PhD

Clinical Director, National Eye Institute

National Institutes of Health

Bethesda, Maryland

Register

 

 

 


Mccloed

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lecture

February 25, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Stephen McLeod, MD

Chief Executive Officer

American Academy of Ophthalmology 

Register

 

 

 

 


Gena Heidary, M.D., Ph.D.

Edward G. Buckley Pediatric Lecture

April 8, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Gena Heidary, MD, PhD

Director, Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology Service

Director, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Fellowship Program

Boston Children's Hospital

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Harvard Medical School

Register


Jeffrey Goldberg

Joseph M. Bryan Research Lecture

September 4, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD

Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology

Byers Eye Institute

Stanford University

 

 

 


Flannery

Dastgheib Pioneer Award in Ocular Innovation Distinguished Lecture

September 30, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

John G. Flannery, PhD

Professor of Neurobiology, Dept. Molecular & Cell Biology

Assoc. Director, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute

University of California, Berkeley

 

 


Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA

Visiting Science Professor Lecture

October 9, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA 

The Llura and Gordon Gund Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research

Cleveland Clinic Learner Research Institute

 

 

 


SriniVas R. Sadda, MD

Mittra Family Foundation Lecture

November 20, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm 

SriniVas R. Sadda, MD

A. Ray Irvine, Jr., MD Endowed Chair in Clinical Ophthalmology and Professor of Ophthalmology

University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA)

Geffen School of Medicine

 


D'Amore

Joseph M. Bryan Lecture

December 4, 2025

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Patricia A. D’Amore, PhD, MBA

Charles L. Schepens Professor of Ophthalmology

Professor of Pathology

Vice-chair of Basic and Translational Research, Dept of Ophthalmology 

Harvard Medical School

Associate Chief of Basic and Translational Research, Ophthalmology

Mass Eye and Ear 

 

 

Previous Guest Lectures

Joseph Carroll, PhD

Dastgheib Pioneer Award in Ocular Innovation Distinguished Lecture

September 25, 2024

5:30pm - 6:30pm

"Applications of High-Resolution Retinal Imaging"

Joseph Carroll, PhD

Richard O. Shultz, MD / Ruth Works Professor in Ophthalmology

Medical College of Wisconsin

 

Arlene Drack

Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Lecture

May 20, 2024

Arlene V. Drack, MD

Ronald Keech Professor for Pediatric Genetic Eye Disease Research,

University of Iowa

 

 

 

 

Eric Pearlman

Stephen and Frances Foster Distinguished Lecture

May 14, 2024

Eric Pearlman, PhD

Director, Institute for Immunology

Professor, Physiology and Biophysics

Professor, Ophthalmology

University of California, Irvine School of Medicine

 

 

Valeria

Visiting Science Professor Lecture

April 11, 2024
Valeria Canto-Soler, PhD

Doni Slouch Family Chart in Ocular Stem Cell Research

Director, CellSight - Ocular Stem Cell and Regeneration Research Program

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

 

 

 

Joshua Stein

Visiting Science Professor Lecture

April 24, 2024
Joshua Stein, MD, MS
Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center

 

 

 

 

 

Freedman

Inaugural Edward G. Buckley, MD Lecture 

September 17, 2024

"Partner to a Renaissance Man – Rising Tide and Independent Travels – My 30-year Adventures at Duke!"

Sharon Freedman, MD

Professor of Ophthalmology, Division Chief Pediatric Ophthalmology

Professor of Pediatrics

Dubovy

Gordon K. Klintworth, MD, PhD Distinguished Lecture

April 12, 2024
Sander Dubovy, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology Victor T. Curtin Chair in Ophthalmology Secondary Appointment in Department of Pathology

 

 

 

 

Joseph M. Bryan Lecture

Andrew Dick

May 11, 2023
Andrew Dick, MD, FMedSci
University College London, Institute of Ophthalmology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fountain

Annual Diversity and Inclusion Lecture

July 18, 2023
Tamara Fountain, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eliott

Mittra Family Foundation Lecture

September 14, 2023
Dean Eliott, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Azar

The Dastgheib Pioneer Award in Ocular Innovation Lecture

October 12, 2023
Dimitri Azar, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Van Gelder

The Stephen and Frances Foster Distinguished Lecture

November 30, 2023
Russell Van Gelder, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert F. Mullins, MS, PhD

Gordon K. Klintworth, MD, PhD Distinguished Lecture

June 30, 2022
Robert F. Mullins, MS, PhD
Martin Carver Chair in Ocular Cell Biology
Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Carver College of Medicine
University of Iowa

 

 

 

 

 

José-Alain Sahel, MD

The Dastgheib Pioneer Award in Ocular Innovation Lecture

September 20, 2022
José-Alain Sahel, MD
Distinguished Professor and Chairman
Department of Ophthalmology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Exceptional Class Professor at Sorbonne Université, Paris
The Eye and Ear Foundation Endowed Chair

 

 

 

 

Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML

The Annual Diversity and Inclusion Lecture Series

September 22, 2022
Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML
Vice Dean for Penn Medicine Office of Inclusion and Diversity
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics
Professor of Ophthalmology
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

Daniel F. Martin, MD

Inaugural Mittra Family Foundation Lecture

November 29, 2022
Daniel F. Martin, MD
Chairman, Cole Eye Institute
Cleveland Clinic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rando Allikmets, PhD

Joseph M. Bryan Lecture

November 17, 2022
Rando Allikmets, PhD
Stargardt Disease (ABCA4) Locus as a Model for Complex Genetics in Mendelian Traits
Acquavella Professor, Department of Ophthalmology
Research Director, Harkness Eye Institute Columbia University

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Pflugfelder, MD

The Stephen and Frances Foster Distinguished Lecture

April 11, 2022
Stephen Pflugfelder, MD
Professor and James and Margaret Elkins Chairman in Ophthalmology
Baylor College of Medicine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adriana Di Polo, PhD, ARVO

Science Professor Lecture

April 14, 2022
Adriana Di Polo, PhD, ARVO
New Insights into Retinal Ganglion Cell Dysfunction and Damage in Glaucoma
Professor in Neuroscience and Ophthalmology
University of Montreal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gregory S. Hageman, PhD, FARVO

Joseph M. Bryan Lecture

April 21, 2022
Gregory S. Hageman, PhD, FARVO
Toward the Development of Gene-directed Therapies for Early Stage Age-related Macular Degeneration
Gregory S. Hageman, PhD
John A Moran Presidential Professor
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
University of Utah School of Medicine
Director, Moran Center for translational Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah