XVII. DOCTORS' BIOGRAPHIES

DR. CHARLES L. SCHEPENS, FATHER OF MODERN RETINAL SURGERY AND WORLD WAR II RESISTANCE HERO, DIES AT THE AGE OF 94

Dr. Charles L. Schepens, known as the father of modern retinal surgery, died on March 28, 2006, at the age of 94.  He was a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, where his patients and trainees established the Charles L. Schepens Professorship in Ophthalmology in 2001.  His medical and scientific legacy will continue through the work of the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Schepens Retina Associates Foundation in Boston, and live on in the hearts of thousands of grateful patients worldwide who would be blind today without his genius and skill. 

A native of Belgium who emigrated to the United States in 1947, Dr. Schepens, from his youth, dedicated his entire life to the service of others.  On March 21, 2006, he received the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor from M. Francois Gauthier, French Consul General in Boston.  This award, established by Napoleon as the most prestigious French government medal, recognized both his lifelong contribution to advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of retinal diseases and his patriotic service to the resistance in World War II.

Dr. Schepens established the Retina Foundation in 1950 which evolved under his direction into two separate organizations that are currently called the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Schepens Retina Associates Foundation.  The Schepens Eye Research Institute is the largest independent eye research facility in the nation and is Harvard affiliated.  The Schepens Retina Associates Foundation, where he has devoted his time for the last eight years, is dedicated to clinical eye research, teaching, and patient care.   Dr. Schepens had a unique ability to communicate with his colleagues, trainees, and patients which inspired great confidence and loyalty.

In a medical career that spanned 70 years, Dr. Schepens created numerous surgical innovations which have saved and will continue to save the sight of millions of adults and children suffering from retinal disorders.   His scleral buckling procedure increased the chance of successfully reattaching a detached retina from approximately 40% to 90%.

One innovation, the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, the instrument that first gained him international, renown, is now used the world over and is on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institute.  His long life of accomplishment and innovation was enhanced and supported by the artistic talent of his wife who pioneered anatomically correct paintings of the fundus of the eye as first seen with a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope.

Over the years, Dr. Schepens and his team of scientists advanced laser surgery, and pioneered equipment such as the Laser Doppler Flowmeter.   Dr. Schepens trained several generations of retinal specialists, now practicing throughout the world.  He has published over 360 scientific papers and four books on retinal diseases.

Over the years, Dr. Schepens has received countless awards.  In 1999, he was voted one of “The 10 Most Influential Ophthalmologists of the Twentieth Century”, living or dead, by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.  In 2003, the American Academy of Ophthalmology named him one of only three laureates.  The Laureate Recognition Award is the Academy’s highest honor and is awarded to those individuals who have made the most significant contributions to the science of ophthalmology.

  Publications    Awards    Articles

J. Wallace McMeel received his MD degree from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., followed by an internship and residency in internal medicine at George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D. C. He continued his studies with a residency in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore and a vitreoretinal fellowship at the Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. Dr. McMeel is Clinical Senior Scientist, SERI, and Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School; and Surgeon in Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has been the Principal Investigator for the Diabetic Retinopathy Study and Diabetic Vitrectomy Study sponsored by the National Eye Institute for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. McMeel received the 1997 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from George Washington University School of Medicine. He is President of Schepens Retina Associates Foundation.
E-Mail: jwm@schepens.com

Gilbert T. Feke graduated as a Ph.D. in physics in 1974, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his postdoctoral training in biophysics in Syracuse. He was a senior scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) from 1990 to 1994. He had several awards and honors for scientific excellence, and he invented the Laser Doppler Flowmeter as well as the optic nerve Doppler Flowmeter. He published 44 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Since 1998, he is research scientist at the SRA foundation.

Frans J. Van de Velde obtained his medical doctor's degree from the State University of Ghent, Belgium in 1983. He received additional training in ophthalmology at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and did a postdoctoral fellowship in psychophysics and physiological optics at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Harvard Medical School. He published 18 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, six book chapters, and obtained nine patents for his inventions related to the retina. Since 1998, he is senior scientist at the SRA Foundation.

Gerald R. Friedman, O.D., is a member of the Faculty of the Low Vision Rehabilitation Center at Schepens Retina Associates Inc., Boston, Massachusetts.  He is also a low vision consultant to several additional private practices such as the Carroll Center for the Blind, the New England Sinai Hospital and the Rehabilitation Center in Stoughton.  He routinely sees patients with low vision and has been a participant in seven multi-center studies of the National Eye Institute in eye disease.