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David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., receives Lasker Award and joins National Academy of Engineering for transformative imaging technology
Dr. David Huang received a 2023 Lasker Award at a gala ceremony in New York City on Friday 29 September and was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering at a ceremony in Washington, DC on Sunday 1 October 2023. Dr. Huang co-invented optical coherence tomography, or OCT, that routinely helps prevent blindness and is increasingly used to diagnose and treat many other conditions. He was the first author of the first article that established this transformative medical innovation back in 1991 when he was a 27-year-old M.D./Ph.D. student at Harvard/MIT. This article has since been cited more than 17,000 times, which ranks #13 in the history of the prestigious journal Science. He continues to advance and refine OCT at our Center for Ophthalmic Optics and Lasers, part of the Casey Eye Institute. He completes an elite trio of Laskers at OHSU: Dr. Albert Starr, 2007, and Dr. Brian Druker, 2009.
The Career Innovation Excellence Award is presented to an OHSU employee who, over the course of their career, has shown themselves to be an accomplished inventor and entrepreneur, demonstrated a true passion for innovation, been successful in engaging and cultivating partnerships with industry, and worked tirelessly to translate their discoveries into solutions for realworld problems and the benefit of society.
Yali Jia, Ph.D., is a pioneer of optical coherence tomographic angiography, and has been included as a contributor on over 30 new technology disclosures submitted to OHSU Technology Transfer. These new methods for detecting structural and vascular abnormalities in the eye have led to 15 issued patents, several of which have been licensed to leading optical coherence tomography manufacturers for further development. Jia’s achievements and success in innovation have been widely recognized both within and outside the OHSU community. In 2021, Jia was the recipient of an OCTRI Biomedical Innovation Program grant, and in 2018 she was named New Inventor of the Year by OHSU Technology Transfer. Jia has also been inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.
*Yan Li, PhD, was awarded as a Principal Investigator of non-clinical industry sponsored research.
*Ou Tan, PhD, was inducted into the OHSU Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors.
*Yukun Guo, Yan Li, Yali Jia, and David Huang were awarded as Inventors of issued US Patents.
OHSU physician-scientist elected to National Academy of Engineering
David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., recognized for co-creating widely used medical imaging technology
An ophthalmologist and research engineer at Oregon Health & Science University has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering in recognition for co-inventing a medical imaging technology that is commonly used to diagnose and guide treatment for the leading causes of blindness.
David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., is among 124 new members who have been elected to the academy, which is among the highest professional distinctions for engineers. He is believed to be the first OHSU representative to become an elected National Academy of Engineering member.
Huang co-invented optical coherence tomography, or OCT, which is used in about 30 million imaging procedures annually. The technology is used to diagnose macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, and also helps physicians decide how to best treat patients with blindness-causing disease. It is also increasingly used to evaluate treatments for neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
Huang has been widely recognized for co-inventing OCT in 1991, when he was an M.D./Ph.D. student at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The National Academy of Engineering previously recognized Huang in 2017, when it awarded him the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize. His other honors include an António Champalimaud Vision Award, the largest scientific and humanitarian prize in vision research, and a Visionary Prize from the Sanford and Susan Greenberg Prize to End Blindness.
As an ophthalmologist, Huang specializes in cornea and refractive surgery. He is a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine, and is the inaugural holder of the Wold Family Endowed Chair in Ophthalmic Imaging. Huang serves as the associate director and the director of research of the OHSU Casey Eye Institute. He also leads the OHSU Center for Ophthalmic Optics and Lasers, which focuses on diagnostic imaging and therapeutic laser applications. Huang joined OHSU in 2010.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from MIT, and a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree from the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. He completed ophthalmology residency training at the University of Southern California’s Doheny Eye Institute and cornea fellowship training at Emory University.
David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., is among 124 new members who have been elected to the academy, which is among the highest professional distinctions for engineers. He is believed to be the first OHSU representative to become an elected National Academy of Engineering member. (Courtesy of Scott Areman)
ARVO 2022 Annual Meeting
Yifan Jian Receives BrightFocus Foundation Macular Degeneration Research Award
Yifan Jian will receive a BrightFocus foundation award for his proposal, entitled "Mapping of Photoreceptor Nuclear Layer Using Volumetric Directional OCT: Applications in Age-Related Macular Degeneration" this July. His proposal was accepted by Vision Science's Review Committee after the completion of a very competitive review process.
Congratulations Dr. David Huang for receiving the Greenberg Prize Award!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- End Blindness 2020—an unprecedented joint effort by leading scientists and figures from the worlds of business, politics, culture, art, music and entertainment to rid the world of blindness—is about to mark a major milestone. On December 14, 2020, 13 pioneering scientists will share $3 million in prizes, from The Sanford and Sue Greenberg Prize to End Blindness, for their groundbreaking scientific and medical contributions to permanently and universally eradicate a condition that has plagued humans since the beginning of time. The hour-long streamed ceremony will be freely accessible and open to all at www.EndBlindness2020.com.
The Greenberg Prize awards ceremony will feature Art Garfunkel, Margaret Atwood, Al Gore, Michael Bloomberg, and Sen. Chris Coons among other luminaries. Musical performances will be provided by special guests. Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Diane Schuur, who was blind from birth due to Retinopathy of Prematurity, will share a few special words. Art-world legend Frank Stella will unveil a sculpture created in honor of the prize.
The Greenberg Prize ceremony will also feature a moving tribute to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a longtime supporter of the End Blindness movement. The tribute will include exclusive footage of Justice Ginsburg reading from Hello Darkness, My Old Friend, the memoir of End Blindness 2020 co-founder Sanford D. Greenberg.
"While today's prize marks the culmination of years of challenging scientific work, in reality this prize is only the beginning of a journey of innovation and cooperation," Dr. Greenberg says. "Together, we are forging a new reality, one in which blindness will no longer determine the future of millions of people. We will end blindness, sooner than any of us can imagine, permanently and for everyone."
Recipients of The Greenberg Prize include members of the scientific and medical communities who have pioneered breathtaking advances in the fight to end the debilitating condition. Prize recipients are being honored in two categories: the Outstanding Achievement Prize, highlighting profound strides toward treating and curing blindness, and The Visionary Prize, providing funding for scientists whose research exhibits significant potential in ending this ancient scourge.
Outstanding Achievement Recipients:
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Dr. Ravindran Ravilla, Aravind Eye Care System
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Dr. G. N. Rao, The L.V. Prasad Eye Institute
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Dr. Jean Bennett, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
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Dr. Gustavo Aguirre, Division of Experimental Retinal Therapies, Department of Clinical Sciences & Advanced Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
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Dr. William Hauswirth, Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Florida
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Dr. Albert Maguire, Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics, Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Visionary Recipients:
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Dr. James Fujimoto, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Dr. David Huang, Casey Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health and Science University
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Mr. Eric Swanson, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Dr. Zhigang He, Boston Children's Hospital F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center
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Dr. Simon John, The Jackson Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University
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Dr. Botond Roska, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel
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Dr. Masayo Takahashi, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research; Vision Care, Inc. as part of Kobe Eye Center
"This is not just a prize but the 21st century equivalent of a moonshot, the effects of which will resound through history," according to Dr. Peter McDonnell, director of the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the End Blindness National Governing Council. "Since time immemorial, blindness has been understood as an immutable fixture of the human condition. The great shift End Blindness has brought about demonstrates this is no longer the case. Together, we will end blindness—and sooner than anyone had ever imagined."
SOURCE The Greenberg Prize
2020
Yali Jia, PhD and John Morrison, MD Received NIH R01 Grant for visible-light OCT angiography, velocimetry, and oximetry for characterizing retinal vascular alterations in glaucoma (2020-2023)
This project will develop advanced technology to image retinal capillaries and measure capillary blood flow and oxygen content. This may provide an early indicator of glaucoma progression and help study a potential cause of increased susceptibility to intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.
January 9, 2019
Yali Jia named Jennie P. Weeks Professor of Ophthalmology
The Weeks Trust was established in 1950 for the purpose of supporting an ophthalmology laboratory at OHSU (which was then called The University of Oregon Medical School). The trust was transferred to OHSU Foundation in 2010 and the establishment of the Jennie P. Weeks Endowed Professorship followed. Mrs. Weeks wrote that she would like the funds to “assist in preserving the close harmony and happiness which exists among the faculty and staff, and to give encouragement to those who are devoting their lives to important investigations and the care of those who are ill.”
David Huang, MD, PhD ranked #1 inventor on Ophthalmologist Magazine's Power List 2019
Each nomination celebrates an individual who has made a significant impact on the field, whether that is through a philanthropic initiative or their ongoing commitment to innovation. Categories include Champions of Change, Emerging Leaders, Inventors, Mentors, and Surgical Pioneers. Asked what he hopes to achieve in the next ten years, Dr Huang states, "I hope to help bring OCT angiography technology into the mainstream of clinical practice in glaucoma and retinal diseases. I would like to see the GoCheck Kids smartphone app being used to screen worldwide to catch refractive error and other amblyopia risk factors. I also have several new imaging and laser treatment ideas that I would like to bring to the stage of commercialization and clinical introduction."
Yali Jia, PhD selected as recipient of 2019 Discovery Award for Women in Science
Selected in recognition of her exceptional achievements in research, Dr. Yali Jia will receive the 2019 Discovery Award for Women in Science. Dr. Jia is among the most influential researchers working on developing optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Her work has led to major breakthroughs that transitioned OCTA from a purely research technology to the clinic, which is a significant advancement for ophthalmology in general. The importance and quality of her research in OCTA is exemplary, and should serve as inspiration for the next generation of women scientists.
Yali Jia, PhD wins the 2019 ARVO Foundation/Pfizer Ophthalmics Carl Camras Translational Research Award
Yali Jia, PhD won this prestigious award which honors excellence in research and fundamental scientific discoveries, concepts and novel technologies. The discovery that each recipient is nominated for leads to, or has the promise of leading to, clinical applications. This award for young investigators working in areas of translational research honors Dr. Carl Camras, who is highly respected for his work as a glaucoma specialist and a research scientist. He is most widely recognized for developing prostaglandin analogues for the treatment of elevated IOP in patients with glaucoma. During his distinguished career, he took a personal interest in developing the next generation of eye and vision researchers.
Yali Jia, PhD is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Dr. Jia earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from OHSU in 2010 under the guidance of Dr. Ruikang Wang. Dr. Jia completed her post-doctoral training with Dr. David Huang at Casey Eye Institute in 2013. Dr. Jia is known for her innovations in optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA) and the application to eye diseases. She developed split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (SSADA), which is a major breakthrough that transitioned OCTA from a purely research technology to the clinic. Her original paper on this subject, published in 2012, has been cited 900 times. She was awarded 3 NIH research project grants that supported the initial works that demonstrated clinical applications of OCTA in retinal diseases. She is the technical leader in Casey Reading Center. Her OCTA reading software (COOL-ART) has been used by several large clinical studies and many international collaborators. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles with over 6000 citations. She has co-edited 3 books. Dr. Jia and her team are also pursuing research in other novel OCT technologies including the use of nanoparticles as OCT contrast agents, Doppler OCT to measure retinal blood flow, spectroscopic OCT to measure tissue oxymetry, and the use of artificial intelligence to detect and classify retinal pathologies.
Dr. Jia says of receiving this award, "This award is huge encouragement for me, women scientists and the OCT and OCTA community. I will continue to advance frontiers in my active research program and I believe the future of OCTA will have a major impact on the diagnosis and management of ocular diseases."
ARVO Initiative
Subject: OCT public awareness campaign launched
Colleagues,
With so many of us reliant on government funding for our research, it is important to show the impact our work has on patients, policymakers and the general public. To spread awareness of our community’s contributions to public health, ARVO is launching the largest science communication project it has ever undertaken, called “Revealing the back of the eye with optical coherence tomography (OCT).”
The flagship product of this campaign is a series of videos featuring testimony from patients, clinicians and researchers. Topics cover how OCT improves the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy. The technology’s initial support from government funding and potential future applications — diagnosing neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, improving surgical outcomes in the operating room and application in telemedicine — are highlighted as well.
In addition to the videos, several other resources have been developed:
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An advocacy toolkit with facts and figures on OCT’s impact on jobs, health care, etc.
This two-year project would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the support of the ARVO Board of Directors. I am also grateful for the guidance provided by the OCT Advisory Panel, a group of the leading OCT researchers who helped guide the direction and accuracy of the initiative. Finally, I’d like to thank the ARVO staff who dedicated a significant amount of their time ensuring this project crossed the finish line.
Matt Windsor
Senior Manager, Science Communications
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Publications from the IOVS Special Issue: 25 Years of Optical Coherence Tomography
Fujimoto JG, Huang D. Foreword: 25 years of optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCTi-ii.
Gao SS, Jia Y, Zhang M, Su JP, Liu G, Hwang TS, Bailey ST, Huang D. Optical coherence tomography angiography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT27-36. PMCID: PMC4968919.
Pechauer AD, Tan O, Liu L, Jia Y, Hou V, Hills W, Huang D. Retinal blood flow response to hyperoxia measured with en face Doppler optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT141-145. PMCID: PMC4968776.
Ma JX, Tang M, Wang L, Weikert MP, Huang D, Koch DD. Comparison of newer IOL power calculation methods for eyes with previous radial keratotomy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT162-168. PMCID: PMC4968777.
Yu J, Gu P, Zong Y, Xu H, Wang X, Sun X, Jiang C, Xie B, Jia Y, and Huang D. Relationship between retinal perfusion and retinal thickness in healthy subjects: an optical coherence tomography angiography study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT204-210. PMCID: PMC49687770.
Tan O, Liu L, Zhang X, Morrison JC, Huang D. Glaucoma increases retinal surface contour variability as measured by optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT438-433. PMCID: PMC4968915.
Yarmohammadi A, Zangwill LM, Diniz-Filho A, Suh MH, Manalastas P, Fatehee N, Yousefi S, Belghith A, Saunders LJ, Medeiros FA, Huang D, Weinreb RN. Optical coherence tomography angiography vessel density in healthy, glaucoma suspect, and glaucoma eyes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT451-459. PMCID: PMC4968912.
Wang M, Zhou Y, Gao SS, Liu W, Huang Y, Huang D, Jia Y. Evaluating polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy with optical coherence tomography angiography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT526-532. PMCID: PMC4970807.
Tang M, Li Y, Chamberlain W, Loie DJ, Schallhorn JM, Huang D,. Differentiating Keratoconus and Corneal Warpage by Analyzing Focal Change Patterns in Corneal Topography, Pachymetry, and Epithelial Thickness Maps. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016;57:OCT544-549. PMCID: PMC4978086.