What Are Our Strengths?
In the past, our department was described as "a
great clinical department. Great faculty. Good clinical research.
Not much going on in basic research. But a really terrific clinical
department. Superb teachers. A really terrific place to train as a
resident". Despite important advances in basic research such
as those from Dr. Hayreh's lab, we were never known as a research
department.
The complimentary parts of that description are still
true. We are still a great clinical department. We deliver state-of-the
art care to our patients, we are still a productive clinical research
center. Our residency program is still at the top of many medical
students' lists. We have been recognized by many publications such
as the U.S.
News and World Reports as one of the best eye departments
in the United States.
But we are now also being recognized as having a first-rate basic
research component in addition to our other strengths. Our researchers
have attracted considerable funding from the NIH, the VA, and private
foundations, and financial support for our research grows annually.
Unlike some university research units, our basic researchers are integrated
into the general department. This enables clinical observations to be
translated quickly to the laboratory and turned back again to the clinic.
For example, clinical observations about a family with congenital glaucoma
led to the identification of a genetic marker for this condition. The
identification of patients with unusual forms of keratitis using new
instrumentation such as the tandem scanning confocal microscope led
to collaborations with the ocular pathology and molecular ophthalmology
laboratories to identify the organism as Acanthamoeba. The development
of new methods for visual field testing are facilitated by the availability
of a diverse patient population. The tight integration of our clinical
mission with our researchers gives us an advantage.
Our researchers have active collaborations within the College of Medicine.
Having a center from the genome project on campus is an advantage for
Dr. Stone's Molecular Ophthalmology Laboratory. The presence of world-class
researchers in biostatistics and epidemiology benefit everyone in ophthalmology.
But our collaborations aren't restricted to the College of Medicine.
Our researchers collaborate with almost every academic unit at the university
(biomedical and electrical engineering, computer science, education,
liberal arts, law, and the National Driving Simulator on our campus).
Our researchers have been successful, in part, because of our past
investments in infrastructure. All our faculty have access to state-of-the-art
photographic services. Our research and development support team, headed
by Paul Montague, took an active role in developing a departmental computer
network. Not only do we collaborate with each other, we collaborate
with the world. Data from our research units are sent to researchers
throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Under the direction of Trish
Duffel, the C.S. O'Brien Library not only houses books and journals,
but provides a complete resource for electronic data retrieval and management.
Having a solid infrastructure permits our clinicians and researchers
to concentrate on their ideas instead of working on how to get something
done.
The result of having an ophthalmic research unit as part of the clinical
department on the campus of a major public research university provides
us with a stimulating and cost-effective environment. The result is
a research atmosphere that is as congenial as it is productive.
Iowa? A great clinical department, a superb place
to train, and a first-rate research team!
revised August, 2000 from original text by Robert Folberg, MD
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