Credit: University Hospitals
CLEVELAND: The Cornea Society has awarded Jonathan Lass, MD, the Castroviejo Medal, its highest honor. Dr. Lass, an ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Eye Institute at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Charles I Thomas Professor of Ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine receives the award in recognition of his lifetime contributions to research and advancements in corneal transplant and surgery.
"Dr. Lass has made a significant impact in our field and how we assess controversies in corneal surgery. He has been instrumental in the development, implementation and interpretation of numerous multicenter trials that have moved the field of corneal transplantation forward," said Cornea Society President Marian S. Macsai, MD, in a Cornea Society press release announcing the award. "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."
The Castroviejo Medal is named in honor of Ramon Castroviejo, the father of modern corneal transplant surgery and the inspiration for the founding of the Cornea Society. It is awarded annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of cornea and anterior segment surgery. The recipient is invited to deliver the prestigious keynote lecture at the Cornea Society Annual Meeting in the fall.
Dr. Lass is a nationally recognized specialist in corneal diseases and corneal transplantation. He directs the UH Cornea Image Analysis Reading Center, one of the top cornea image analysis centers in the country. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications, and coordinated many multi-institutional trials to add to the body of knowledge about eye donation and cornea viability.
Dr. Lass is the former Chair of Ophthalmology at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He served as one of the study leads on the National Eye Institute (NEI) sponsored Cornea Donor Study, the first masked, randomized, controlled study to demonstrate that donor age has no impact on the success of the transplant for 80 percent of recipients, eliminating a common bias against corneas from older donors. Currently, he serves as the principal investigator on an NEI-sponsored national multi-center, masked, randomized trial to determine the optimal time frame for usage of donated corneas, the Cornea Preservation Time Study.
He attributes his recognition in the field to the outstanding teams involved in this work. "Our dedicated team at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University, as well as the clinical investigation teams around the country are doing the real and important work of these trials: Asking the important questions about eye banking and corneal transplantation," he said.
Dr. Lass earned his MD from Boston University School of Medicine in Boston and completed an 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.
Dr. Lass has been recognized by several other national organizations, including as the recipient of 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–the highest honor for a corneal surgeon, from the other leading cornea organization in the United States. Dr. Lass is one of only 12 people in the field to ever receive both the Castroviejo Medal and the Paton award since the Castroviejo medal was established by the Cornea Society in 1975.
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About University Hospitals
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of over 1 million patients per year through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland's University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, dermatology, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is the second largest employer in northern Ohio with 26,000 employees. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes–research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism–to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine. Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education." The School of Medicine is affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. case.edu/medicine.
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