E VENING OF E XCELLENCE
Robert E. “Gene” Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Evening of Excellence Honoring Two at 2020 Gala A distinguished ophthalmology researcher and a leader of the community and finance sector will be honored during the 2020 Evening of Excellence.
Cross Research Professor, Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Cell Biology. In addition, he serves as interim chair of the Department of Cell Biology.
The dinner, sponsored by the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association to raise funds for research by junior investigators, will be held Jan. 23, 2020, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. For information or tickets, contact Lindsey Manning at 405-271-2353 or Lindsey-Manning@ouhsc.edu.
He served as director of the Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience at the OU Health Sciences Center from 1995 to 1999, and from 1998 to 2007, he served as founding chair of the Department of Cell Biology. He also served as Director of Vision Research at the Dean McGee Eye Institute from 1998 through 2018. During his 25-year tenure on campus, Anderson has maintained an active research laboratory and has received more than $62 million in grant support from the National Institutes of Health, placing him among a handful of top investigators at the OU Health Sciences Center. In addition, he has received more than $6 million in non-NIH support. Among vision scientists in Departments of Ophthalmology in the United States, Anderson ranked second in the nation in NIH grant support in 2009 and third in the nation in 2010 and 2011.
The Dean’s Award for Distinguished Medical Service will be presented to Robert E. “Gene” Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., and the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Community Service will be presented to David Harlow. Robert E. “Gene” Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., serves in multiple capacities for the Dean McGee Eye Institute and the OU College of Medicine. Anderson arrived on campus in 1995, after serving in several faculty positions at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he earned his medical degree in 1975. Prior to that, he had earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. In 1968, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Oak Ridge Associated Universities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the OU College of Medicine, he holds several professorships: James P. Luton Professor, George Lynn
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Anderson’s research focuses on retinal degenerations and the roles of lipids and lipid metabolism in retinal structure and function. He has published more than 300 articles in high-impact journals. His contributions to the field are significant and include the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in the visual system, which led to the Food and Drug Administration’s inclusion of long-chain n-3 fatty acids in human infant formulas, and a landmark discovery regarding
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