John A. Moran Eye Center physician-scientists Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, and Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD, will receive awards in 2019 from The Macula Society, a prestigious invitation-only international group focused on new research in retinal and macular diseases.
W. Richard Green Lecture
Bernstein will deliver the 2019 W. Richard Green Lecture in honor of work that has helped explain the pathogenesis of retinal diseases. Bernstein is Moran’s director of clinical research and associate director of basic science research.
He specializes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with special emphasis on the role of nutrition and environment in its treatment and prevention; inherited retinal and macular dystrophies; and surgical treatment of vitreoretinal disorders. His latest research focuses on the genetics and imaging of macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel)—a notoriously difficult to diagnose hereditary disease that causes central vision loss.
Bernstein will deliver the lecture at the 42nd annual meeting of The Macula Society on February 13-16 in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Arnall Patz Medal
Hartnett is receiving The Macula Society’s 2019 Arnall Patz Medal for outstanding contributions in the study of retinal vascular diseases. Hartnett is founder and director of Moran’s Pediatric Retina Center.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, she is a sought-after research collaborator and a care innovator who has expanded pediatric ophthalmology services at Moran and Primary Children’s Medical Center. Her latest research has focused on retinopathy of prematurity, a blinding disorder affecting premature infants.
She will receive the award during the annual Macula Society meeting in February and will deliver the Arnall Patz Lecture at the 2019 American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in October.
In another honor, Hartnett will be joining the editorial board of the venerable American Journal of Ophthalmology, a monthly peer-reviewed medical publication established in 1884.