Nominations for Memorial Lectures

Call for nominations:

As is now a well-established tradition of the International Myopia Conference series, we are calling for nominations for the two memorial lectures, as described below, established to remember and honor the legacies of two past giants of our myopia research community.

Please send your nominations to Professor Christine Wildsoet by wildsoet@berkeley.edu and Professor Frank Schaeffel by frank.schaeffel@uni-tuebingen.de before the end of August. Each nomination should be supported by a letter from the nominator, along with a copy of the CV of the nominee.

Christine Wildsoet & Frank Schaeffel (review committee co-chairs)

Chew Sek-Jin Award Lecture

The Chew Sek-Jin Memorial lecture is named in the memory of Sek-Jin Chew, who died at the age of 39 years of complications from surgery for a brain tumor. He was a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Center and Deputy Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute. Dr. Chew received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Rockefeller University in New York, where his close friendship and scientific collaboration with Josh Wallman also began. Together they worked to resurrect the International Myopia Conference series, which had been earlier attached to the now long defunct Myopia International Research Foundation, for which Dr. Chew served as President. The Chew Sek-Jin Memorial Lecture represents a now well-established tradition in the International Myopia Conference series and one of 2 keynote presentations. By tradition, this award lecture is given by a senior myopia researcher whose work has made a significant impact on the myopia research field. The awardee is selected by an awards committee, whose members were also responsible for identifying suitable candidates based on their myopia-related research achievements. The final selection was based on anonymous votes by committee members. CooperVision’s on-going sponsorship of the Chew Sek-Jin Memorial Lecture reflects their strong commitments to the ocular health of our children and to myopia research more generally.

ZEISS Young Investigator Award in Myopia Research & Josh Wallman Memorial Lecture

The Josh Wallman Memorial Lecture acknowledges both the contribution of Professor Josh Wallman to myopia research and his support for junior researchers. As a long-term senior faculty member of City University of New York, Professor Josh Wallman pioneered the use of the avian model for understanding eye growth and made invaluable contributions to vision research and the field of myopia. There are likely no myopia researchers who have not read a paper from Josh Wallman’s myopia research laboratory and, for researchers who crossed his path, he will be remembered for his enthusiasm for science and interest in and promotion of their work. The ZEISS Young Investigator Award for Myopia Research recognizes young researchers for their distinguished contribution in the field of myopia research. ZEISS is committed to its heritage: Promotion of excellence in research. Innovation has a long tradition at ZEISS since 1846. Promoting future scientists is anchored in the company statutes – a specification of Ernst Abbe who established the Foundation. ZEISS’s sponsorship of the Josh Wallman Memorial Lecture reflects their strong belief in the importance for better and healthier lives, of both science and innovative business. The awardee was selected by an awards committee, who reviewed nominations meeting the following requirements – an active junior myopia researcher, who had completed within the last 10 years, their PhD or equivalent research degree, or myopia research training (for non-related PhD research).

History of Award Lectures at International Myopia Conferences

Here are the past awardees of the two memorial lectures above for each of the past IMCs.