Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 16 August 2017 chapters. Roger was president of ASCRS in 2005–06 and was chair of the Program Committee, essentially running the annual meeting for 9 years. All of these accomplishments are secondary to what really made him special. Roger was a master educator, surgeon, and innovator with compassion for his patients. He took on the most difficult cases from around the world. Roger was the medical monitor for the first excimer laser trial and first approved excimer laser. He had a wry sense of humor and could play devilish prac- tical jokes, but he could be a genial target as well. He was a dedicated family man who adored his wife and children, and despite all of his accomplishments, he had the rarest of traits: humility. Roger was a friend to all who knew him and an inter- national friend to our profession. At ASCRS Refractive Day, we have named the keynote lecture in his honor, which was given this year by Douglas Koch, MD. Roger was the most loved per- son in ophthalmology, and I think I might have a Steinert cocktail to- night and toast our old friend Roger, who always made a difference. EW Contact information Donnenfeld: ericdonnenfeld@gmail.com Chief medical editor's corner of the world by Eric Donnenfeld, MD, EyeWorld chief medical editor Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine. He became a professor of ophthalmology, chair- man of the department, and interim dean of the medical school. He then conceived, raised funds, and built the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, which is an extraordinary facility with some of the finest ophthalmol- ogists I know. A few other highlights of his career included 18 visiting professorships, 21 named lectures, and 15 patents. He was a prodigious writer with 146 peer-review publi- cations, eight books, and 116 book O phthalmology recent- ly lost one of the most extraordinary individuals I have ever met: Roger Steinert, MD. In this issue of EyeWorld, we celebrate his contri- butions to ophthalmology, ASCRS, and education. In baseball, we have the ex- ceedingly rare Triple Crown for the player with the highest batting average, most runs batted in, and most homeruns in a season. Roger was the Triple Crown winner for our profession: the most hard-working, intelligent, and innovative person in ophthalmology. He excelled at everything he did, and it would be easy to be jealous of his accom- plishments if he was not so modest, approachable, and simply fun to be with. As an example, see the descrip- tion on page 18 from Stephen Lane, MD, of his trademark drink: "the Steinert." Roger began his career by "set- tling" for monodimensional training in college, medical school, residency, and his cornea fellowship at Har- vard. He quickly became president of the medical staff and director of Roger Steinert, MD: A giant in our field Dr. Steinert took on the most difficult cases from around the world and showed compassion for patients of all ages. Source: Eric Donnenfeld, MD the cornea service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Roger was one of the most successful surgeons in Boston and a partner at Ophthal- mic Consultants of Boston. He was innovative and published exten- sively. Roger was at the top of the field and then left a lucrative private practice behind to move to Califor- nia to become an academic ophthal- mologist. In California, Roger started over again, dedicating himself to training young ophthalmologists and building the Department of Dr. Steinert was the founding director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, an academic eye center dedicated to the preservation of sight, with services ranging from eyeglass fittings to refractive surgeries to clinical trials. From the archives Dr. Steinert's lasting contribution to ophthalmologists and patients EW NEWS & OPINION 17 I n September, the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute opened its new 70,000-square-foot facility on the UC Irvine campus and started to receive its first patients. "The Gavin Herbert Eye Insti- tute is strategically located within walking distance of two major bio- medical research centers and at the epicenter of the largest concentra- tion of eye technology companies in the world. It's well positioned to pursue its ambitious research goal of ending blindness by 2020," said Michael V. Drake, MD, UC Irvine chancellor. This capped a 10-year effort by the institute's founding director, Roger Steinert, MD, to raise $39 million in funding to support the project. This represents the first fa- cility on the UC Irvine campus to be funded entirely through local corpo- rate, foundation, and individual philanthropic gifts; no government funding was required. The concept of this institute can even be traced back to discussions when Irving Leopold, MD, helped start the department in 1975. James V. "Jim" Mazzo, an oper- ating partner with Versant Ventures and a UC Irvine Foundation trustee, led the very successful community campaign. The initial naming gift came in 2007 from Gavin Herbert, founder and chairman emeritus of Allergan, his wife, Ninetta, and his mother Josephine Herbert Gleis. Other major donors were Abbott Medical Optics, the Alcon Founda- tion, the Allergan Foundation, Julia and George Argyros, the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation, Bausch + Lomb, Esther and James Cavanaugh, the Discovery Eye Foundation, the Kratz Foundation, Marsha and Bill Link, and Kelly and Jim Mazzo. In addition to these major donors are more than 100 key donor supporters of this effort. The facility includes a team of 24 clinicians and researchers who will provide comprehensive oph- thalmology care to about 150 pa- tients a day. All major ophthalmic specialties are represented at the Eye Institute. Research teams at the Eye Insti- tute are investigating such advanced treatments as stem cell therapies to preserve and restore sight for indi- viduals with retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration; infused contact lenses that replace eye drops to treat cystinosis; and a vaccine for ocular herpes, a leading cause of blindness. The building includes 34 patient exam rooms and two operating rooms, with adjoining space for laser cataract surgery, and space for ex- pansion. Due to the slope of the land where the Eye Institute is located, there are two places where patients can enter the facility, one being the main entrance and the other being the surgical entrance. This slope gives the Eye Institute the unique ability to have these two entrances at different levels, but still permits both to have ground floor access. This is particularly importance since two-thirds of the patient population served by the Eye Institute is elderly. The operating rooms include HD video capabilities, which can be broadcast within the Eye Institute to the large 127-person conference facility or to any outside location through the internet. Computers are able to hold up to three months of HD footage in the servers for clini- cians to use for presentations or archiving. One of the key unique features of the Eye Institute is the Braille Institute-inspired interior design features that maximize ease of use by patients with impaired vision. Examples of this include darker col- ors on countertops so that there is a contrast with the white papers pre- sented to patients, and consistent colors on carpets, without abrupt color changes that may be inter- preted as impediments by low vision patients. Another element is the dedi- cated pediatric space, designed to put children at ease. This includes a play-oriented waiting room, televi- sions showing consistent program- ming throughout the facility, and a restroom equipped with a toddler- height sink and toilet. When entering the Eye Insti- tute, visitors are first greeted by a very unique sculpture in the lobby. The sculpture involves the stringing of suspended dichroic glass artwork throughout the lobby atrium above October 2013 by Brad Fundingsland EyeWorld Education Development Group New Eye Institute opens on the UC Irvine campus Dr. Steinert, founding director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, an academic eye center dedicated to the preservation of sight, with services ranging from eyeglass fittings to refractive surgeries to clinical trials of new therapies Community and university leaders mark the opening of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute's new home at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Pictured from left: UC Irvine Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Terry Belmont; UC Irvine Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Hazem Chehabi, MD; UC Irvine School of Medicine Dean Dr. Ralph Clayman; Versant Ventures Operating Partner James Mazzo; Allergan Chairman Emeritus Gavin Herbert; Gavin Herbert Eye Institute Director Roger Steinert, MD; and UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, MD. The Gavin Herbert Eye Institute continued on page 18 17-33 News_EW October 2013-DL_Layout 1 9/30/13 11:09 AM Page 17 To read about the Institute's 2013 opening, see EyeWorld's October 2013 issue, page 17.

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