Wilmer in Focus Newsletter | April 2026
News from our full member Wilmer Eye Institute Johns Hopkins Medicine
Dear friends and colleagues,
In this issue, we share the exciting news that one of our own has been awarded the prestigious Gonin Medal. We also show how, with the generous support of individuals and organizations, Wilmer is advancing patient care and AI in ophthalmology, and we take a look back on the amazing work of Annette Smith Burgess, who hand-illustrated many of the fundus images featured in Atlas Fundus Oculi, William Holland Wilmer’s 1934 color atlas of the retina and choroid — which remains one of the most admired and authoritative texts on the subject today.
—Peter J. McDonnell, M.D.
Alan and Marlene Norton Director of the Wilmer Eye Institute
William Holland Wilmer Professor of Ophthalmology
Features
Leading the Way in Artificial Intelligence
Inspired by his Wilmer education, William Wood and his wife, Jennifer, are partnering with Wilmer to support the clinical application of AI in ophthalmology.
Visionary in Medical Illustration
Annette Smith Burgess was recruited by Dr. William Holland Wilmer in 1926 to become the institute’s first ophthalmic illustrator, a role she held for more than three decades.
New Partnership Expands Support for Eyecare in the Community
Thanks to support from KeraLink International, a free medical student-led screening program for eye disease is expanding its capacity and its reach.
In the Spotlight
Get to Know Mihret Girum
Mihret Girum, O.D., joined Wilmer in July 2025 as the Jones Low Vision Fellow at the institute’s Lions Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center. This postdoctoral clinical program trains ophthalmologists and optometrists to become experts in clinical vision rehabilitation, related clinical science and research.
Carey Focuses on Vision Recovery Following Treatment for Meningioma
In this episode of the NeuroOp Guru in collaboration with Ophthalmology Times, host Andrew G. Lee, M.D., is joined by Drew Carey, M.D., the Neil R. Miller Rising Professor of Ophthalmology, to discuss pretreatment features associated with vision improvement following radiotherapy for optic nerve sheath meningioma and how these findings may help guide treatment decisions.
Scott on Sickle Cell Disease in Women
In an Ophthalmology Times article, Adrienne Scott, M.D., the Fred M. Leader Family Retina Professor, discusses the clinical diagnosis, manifestations and treatment of sickle cell disease with an eye toward the contributions of ophthalmologists and optometrists to patient care, and with particular emphasis on its effects in women.
Research news
Assessing the Prevalence and Health Care Disparities of Retinal Conditions
In a meta-analysis published in JAMA Ophthalmology, T.Y. Alvin Liu, M.D., the James P. Gills, Jr., M.D., and Heather Gills Rising Professor of Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology, and colleagues studied the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion in the U.S. Understanding the disparities in prevalence may aid in future resource planning.
Edwards, Colleagues Visualize Changes Due to Geographic Atrophy
National Institutes of Health-supported research led by Malia Edwards, Ph.D., the Tom Clancy Professor of Ophthalmology, captured how blood vessels and eye tissue changed due to geographic atrophy. The study findings, which were published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, will help experts identify key physical features linked to severe geographic atrophy and determine which medications can be prescribed to manage it.
Peñaranda Presents Best Paper at ASCRS
At the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), postdoctoral research fellow Maria Catalina Pizarro Peñaranda, M.D., presented on “Short and Medium-Term Effects of Cataract Surgery with Microstent Implantation on Intraocular Pressure Fluctuation Using Remote Tonometry,” which was selected as the best paper of the session.
Study IDs Possible Marker for Uveal Melanoma
New research by James Handa, M.D., the Robert Bond Welch, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology and colleagues, showed that elevated levels of lactic acid in the eye’s aqueous humor could serve as a potential marker for uveal melanoma. The study was published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Awards and Honors
Arevalo Awarded Gonin Medal
The Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) have awarded J.Fernando Arevalo, M.D., Ph.D., the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Professor of Ophthalmology, the honor of giving the The Gonin Medal Lecture 2026, titled “Current Microsurgical Management of Posterior Segment IOFBs: The Gonin Medal Lecture 2026”.
The Gonin Medal is awarded every four years in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of ophthalmology and is formally presented at the opening ceremony of the ICO World Ophthalmology Congress. Arevalo is the first Latin American winner of the award and joins, from Wilmer, Alan Woods, A. Edward Maumenee and Al Sommer as recipients of the honor.
From left to right: Ivo Kocur, Chief Executive Officer, ICO; J. Fernando Arevalo; E. Doudet, Vice-Réctrice, Université de Lausanne, UNIL; and T.J. Wolfensberger, Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Université de Lausanne
Kandoi Receives ARVO Achievements in Eye and Vision Advocacy Award
Sangeetha Kandoi, Ph.D., a Bright Focus Foundation-funded postdoctoral fellow and Knights Templar Eye Foundation fellow, was named the 2026 Achievements in Eye and Vision Advocacy Award recipient from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
Ramos-Dávila Wins Ocular Oncology Scholarship
The judging panel for the Victoria Cohen Eye Cancer Charitable Trust has selected Eugenia Ramos-Dávila, M.D., an ocular immunology and uveitis fellow, as the winner of the Victoria Cohen Scholarship 2026 for Ocular Oncology.
Two from Wilmer Named Science Communication Training Fellows
Postdoctoral research fellows Folahan Ibukun, M.B.ChB., M.P.H., and Zainab Rustam, M.B.B.S., have been named 2026 ARVO Science Communication Fellows by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). The prestigious one-year training program equips early-career researchers with skills to effectively communicate vision science to diverse audiences including through government advocacy.
Folahan Ibukun
Zainab Rustam
Upcoming Events
Grand Rounds
Join Wilmer for virtual Grand Rounds, Thursday mornings from 7:30am – 8:30am. CME credit is available for Johns Hopkins affiliates. Click here to join these upcoming sessions:
· April 30
· May 14
· May 21
Glaucoma
Pollack Lecture
Pediatrics
Leffler Lecture
Retina
Please note that the above dates and topics have been updated since the previous issue.
There will be no Grand Rounds on May 7 due to ARVO.
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