History and Notable Achievements

1872
University of Michigan Regents establish the Department of Ophthalmology. We are the 4th oldest department in the country.

1930s
Department Chair, F. Bruce Fralick, M.D., initiates a formal research program within the department.

1940s
Department resident, Harold F. Falls, M.D., begins the work that will establish him as the undisputed leader of ophthalmic genetics. In 1941, the University of Michigan establishes its Heredity Clinic, the first in the nation. Upon finishing his residency, Dr. Falls becomes a faculty member in our department, with a joint appointment in the Heredity Clinic.

1955
The Department makes a commitment to basic research with the appointment of Mathew Alpern, Ph.D., as its first full-time research faculty member. Dr. Alpern would become one of the world's foremost experts in color vision.

1957
The Department collaborates with the local Lions Clubs to establish the Michigan Eye Bank, which provides donor tissue to patients who are in need of a corneal transplant.

1985
The Kellogg Eye Center opens its doors, consolidating under one roof clinics, laboratories, and offices that had been scattered among seven buildings throughout the medical campus.

1991
Dr. Mathew Alpern is elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

1994
Kellogg resident, Ron Kurtz, M.D., discovers that the ultrafast laser has potential for eye surgery. The concept is developed in collaboration with the University's Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. Prototype lasers are built and tested. By the end of the decade, IntraLase, Corp. is formed to market the ultrafast laser for LASIK surgery. Other ophthalmic applications continue to be investigated.

1996
Paul R. Lichter, M.D., serves as the Centennial President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

1997
Debra A. Thompson, Ph.D., clones the first retinal pigment epithelium-specific disease gene. RPE65 is responsible for an early and severe retinal degeneration that causes childhood blindness.

2000
The Eye Center launches one of the first federally certified eye gene testing services in the country. The Ophthalmic Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory also offers genetic counseling.

Anand Swaroop, Ph.D., brings microarray technology to the Eye Center and establishes the Sensory Gene Microarray Node to study gene expression and isolate candidate genes for human diseases.

2001
Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., long-time faculty member and founder of the UM Retinal and Macular Degeneration Center, appointed Director of the National Eye Institute.

2002
Radha Ayyagari, Ph.D. reports that RPGR, a gene normally associated with retinitis pigmentosa, also causes a form of early-onset macular degeneration.

2003
Kellogg is ranked as one of the best ophthalmology programs in the U.S. News & World Report survey of medical specialties.

Kellogg faculty implant miniature telescopes in the eyes of patients with age-related macular degeneration to improve sight.

2004
AMD Family and Genetic Study Group achieves an enrollment of 2100 individuals representing 1500 families who provide blood samples and family history to help scientists isolate disease-causing genes

Anand Swaroop, Ph.D. and colleagues identify two new chromosomal locations where they expect to find genes associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Mark W. Johnson, M.D. enrolls patients in a study to test the effectiveness of rhuFab, a drug that shows promise for treating the wet form of age-related macular degeneration.

Kellogg Cornea Service acquires an IntraLase FS laser for LASIK surgery. Other Kellogg scientists, some of whom were involved in the original research, begin to study the potential of the femtosecond laser for cornea transplants and glaucoma surgery.

Chairs

George E. Frothingham, M.D. 1872 - 1889
Flemming Carrow, M.D. 1889 - 1904
Walter R. Parker, M.D. 1904 - 1932
George Slocum, M.D. 1932 - 1933
F. Bruce Fralick, M.D. 1933 - 1968
John W. Henderson, M.D., Ph.D. 1968 - 1978
Paul R. Lichter, M.D. 1978 - present

Endowed Professorships

Skillman Professorship in Pediatric Ophthalmology (1984)
F. Bruce Fralick Chair of Ophthalmology (1988)
Paul R. Lichter Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics (1990)
Harold F. Falls Collegiate Professorship (2003)