Cornea Society Honors Jonathan Lass, MD with the Prominent Castroviejo Medal
FAIRFAX, Va. – December 6, 2016 – The Cornea Society has awarded its highest honor, the Castroviejo Medal, to Jonathan H. Lass, MD.
Dr. Lass is the Charles I Thomas Professor of Ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, member of the Center for Anterior Segment Diseases and Surgery in the University Hospitals (UH) Eye Institute, medical director of Eversight Ohio (formerly the Cleveland Eye Bank), and medical director of the Cornea Image Analysis Reading Center at CWRU and UH.
The medal, named in honor of Ramon Castroviejo, the father of modern corneal transplant surgery and the inspiration for the founding of the Cornea Society, is awarded annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of cornea and anterior segment surgery.
"Dr. Lass has made a significant impact in our field and how we assess issues in corneal surgery. He has been instrumental in the development, implementation and interpretations of numerous multicenter trials that have moved the field of corneal transplantation forward," said Cornea Society President Marian S. Macsai, MD. "Dr. Lass has standardized the way we review specular microscopy through the development of the Cornea Image Analysis Reading Center (CIARC) and as a result improved our evaluation of corneal endothelial cells. Dr. Lass was paramount in the success of the Cornea Donor Study and the Cornea Preservation Time Study. The Board of Directors of the Cornea Society unanimously chose Dr. Lass as the 2017 recipient of the Castroviejo Medal."
Dr. Lass is one of the leading cornea and external disease experts in the United States. He earned his medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, and completed his ophthalmology residency at Boston Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in cornea and external diseases at Harvard's Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Schepens Eye Research Institute. His expertise is in cornea and external diseases and cornea transplant surgery.
He is one of the leading cornea and external disease experts in the United States. His research interests have been distinguished in corneal genetics, image analysis and clinical trials advancing our understanding of the factors impacting success in corneal preservation and transplantation. He currently serves as the Study Chair for the National Eye Institute sponsored Cornea Preservation Time Study examining the effect of donor cornea preservation time on graft success and cell loss following endothelial keratoplasty: results are to be released in the fall of 2017.
Dr. Lass has been recognized for his efforts to advance the field, receiving the Senior Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2004 and the prestigious R. Townley Paton Award from the Eye Bank Association of America in 2012; this award is the highest honor for a corneal surgeon given by this leading cornea organization in the United States.
Founded in 1975, the Cornea Society is an international society that promotes the exchange of information in cornea and external disease. With more than 700 members worldwide, the society fosters the exchange of information through scientific meetings, communications and the peer-reviewed journal, Cornea: The Journal of Cornea and External Disease. For more information, email [email protected].