This year, the Retina Research Foundation's Gertrude D. Pyron Award is being presented to Cynthia A. Toth, MD, the Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University School of Medicine and professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. Dr. Toth is also vice chair of clinical research and director of physician-scientist development for Duke Eye Center.
The Pyron Award was created by the Retina Research Foundation of Houston, Texas, to recognize outstanding vision scientists whose work contributes to knowledge about vitreoretinal disease. Its $50,000 cash prize includes a $5,000 personal honorarium and a $45,000 research grant.
Dr. Toth joined the Duke University faculty in 1993, where she succeeded Robert Machemer, MD, in developing macular translocation surgery and as director of the surgical instrument prototyping laboratory. She applied her surgical expertise to complex adult and pediatric vitreoretinal conditions, and many of her surgical technologies translated to clinical use. Dr. Toth transformed the laboratory to the Duke Advanced Research in SD/SS OCT Imaging (DARSI) Laboratory and co-founded the Duke Reading Center.
Her individual and multicenter research leadership has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, foundations and industry. Dr. Toth, along with Biomedical Engineering Professor Joseph Izatt, PhD, was the first to integrate OCT imaging into use in retinal surgery. With a multidisciplinary team, she has taken image-guided ocular microsurgery to the next level to improve surgeon performance.
Dr. Toth’s research has also been the genesis of retinal OCT imaging in infants and young children, and has enabled Food and Drug Administration approval of the first handheld system for infant OCT imaging. The majority of her more than 285 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and a book, advance the understanding and use of OCT imaging and investigational imaging devices to guide diagnosis and clinical and surgical management.
Dr. Toth will receive her award on Sunday, October 10th during the 39th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio
Learn more about the Pyron Award.