Newswise — Ruth D. Williams, MD is a glaucoma consultant and CEO of the Wheaton Eye Clinic, an ophthalmology practice founded in 1942 that provides subspecialty eye care to more than 140,000 patients annually. She is a past president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Before serving on the Academy’s Board of Trustees, she represented ophthalmology at the AMA for nearly a decade, chairing its specialty section. She has served on the board of several ophthalmic organizations. She is a member of the American Glaucoma Society, the Chicago Glaucoma Society, Women in Ophthalmology, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Williams has given numerous named lectures, nationally and internationally. She has appeared on a dozen major television networks and talk shows and provided interviews to numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Health, Women’s Health, Shape, Good Housekeeping, and the AARP magazine.
She has been recognized by the American Academy of Ophthalmology with the Senior Achievement Award and chosen by her peers for the prestigious ”Top Doctors” Award in Chicago.
After attending Rush Medical College in Chicago, Dr. Williams completed an ophthalmology residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and a glaucoma fellowship at Shaffer Associates and the University of California San Francisco.
“We are honored to have Ruth join our Board of Directors,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., MD, co-founder of Glaucoma Research Foundation. “She is an extraordinary clinician and leader in the field of glaucoma. As a President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology she knows the people and profession well. As a prior Glaucoma Fellow of the Shaffer, Hetherington, Hoskins practice she understands glaucoma and the needs of the patients and physicians in this field. Her extensive business knowledge and volunteer experience will be great resources for us.”
Monica L. Vetter, PhD is Professor and Chair of the Neurobiology and Anatomy department, and Adjunct Professor in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at The University of Utah. After attending McGill University, she attained her PhD from the University of California in San Francisco.
An established neuroscientist, Dr. Vetter has published numerous scientific papers. Her lab focuses on understanding the pathways controlling neural development and degeneration in the retina, as degeneration of retinal neurons can cause progressive blindness in diseases like glaucoma.
Dr. Vetter is a founding member Glaucoma Research Foundation’s first Catalyst for a Cure research consortium and currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Catalyst for a Cure Biomarker Initiative.
“Monica has been actively involved with Glaucoma Research Foundation for more than a decade,” said Thomas M. Brunner, President and CEO of Glaucoma Research Foundation. “As a member of the original Catalyst for a Cure team, her investigations helped define glaucoma as a neurodegenerative disease. We are most fortunate to have Monica’s expertise in ophthalmology and neuroscience on our Board, to help guide and evaluate our future research initiatives.”
About Glaucoma Research FoundationFounded in 1978 and headquartered in San Francisco, Glaucoma Research Foundation is America’s oldest and most experienced institution dedicated solely to its mission: Preventing vision loss from glaucoma by investing in innovative research, education and support with the ultimate goal of finding a cure. The Foundation has a proven track record of innovative, results-oriented research and produces definitive educational materials used by eye care professionals across the country. The Glaucoma Research Foundation website, www.glaucoma.org, provides valuable information about glaucoma to more than 3 million visitors annually.
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