From our Chair

Chair, Edward G. Buckley, MD

Dear Friends,

Welcome! As you flip through our 2024 VISION magazine, we’re excited to show you what’s happening at the Duke Eye Center and in the field of Ophthalmology. This year, we’ve got some truly amazing stories to share about the incredible work our team is doing.

We’re all about turning great ideas from the lab into real treatments that can change lives. Imagine being the first to find a way to treat eye diseases that were once thought untreatable — that’s what we’re working on here at Duke. By working closely with experts in different fields at Duke like engineering and cancer research, we’re creating new ways to help people see better.

One of our impressive projects is finding out more about eye diseases that are passed down in families. Our goal is to understand these diseases better so we can come up with expanded gene therapy treatments, which could one day restore vision to people who have lost it.

We’re also working on a new way to check kids’ eyes to identify problems early, which is super important for keeping their vision sharp for life.

A new program available through our vision rehabilitation division is teaching future occupational therapists how to help people with vision loss — it’s pretty special because it’s not something you can find just anywhere.

Our team is also at the forefront of treating eye tumors with new, less invasive techniques. Thanks to our teamwork with Duke Radiation Oncology and the addition of a new expert in eye cancers, we’re making big strides in this area.

And we are continuing to expand our global efforts. Our Duke Global Ophthalmology program is making a difference in places where eye care is hard to come by. We’re even starting a fellowship to train doctors to work in this important area.

Lastly, our education programs for doctors in training continue to be top-notch, with our residents and fellows doing incredible work in ophthalmology.

Don’t miss the section on awards and honors to see what our faculty, trainees and staff have achieved.

I hope you find these stories as inspiring as I do. It’s the passion and dedication of our team that makes all this possible.

Warmest regards,

Edward G. Buckley, MD

Vice Dean for Education, School of Medicine

Chair, Department of Ophthalmology

Vice Chancellor for Duke-National University Singapore Affairs

Gills Professor of Ophthalmology Professor of Pediatrics Duke University School of Medicine