National Advisory Eye Council Welcomes Four New Members

The National Advisory Eye Council for the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces the appointment of four new members: Joseph A. Bonanno, O.D., Ph.D.; James Chodosh, M.D., M.P.H.; Col. Donald A. Gagliano, M.D.; and Alberta L. Orr, M.S.W.

The council advises the NEI about conducting and supporting research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs that address blinding eye diseases and disorders, visual function mechanisms, sight preservation, and health needs of visually impaired individuals. The group’s 12 appointed members are leaders in the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, and basic sciences, as well as public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management.

We are excited to welcome these accomplished council members, who offer a wide range of expertise, said NEI director Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. We look forward to their guidance as the NEI continues to advance vision science and the eye health of the nation.

Joseph A. Bonanno, O.D., Ph.D., is an associate dean and professor of optometry and vision science at Indiana University School of Optometry, where he teaches biochemistry and physiology. During the past 18 years, Dr. Bonanno’s research has primarily involved the ion and fluid transport properties of the corneal endothelium. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and has previously served as member and chair of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Physiology/Pharmacology Program Planning Committee, ad hoc reviewer for several NEI grant panels, and member of the NIH Center for Scientific Review Anterior Eye Disease Study Section.

James Chodosh, M.D., M.P.H., is an ophthalmologist at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and a lecturer in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Previously, he held the M.G. McCool Chair in Ophthalmology at the Dean A. McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and served as the residency program director, fellowship director, and chief of Cornea and External Diseases. He is past chair of the Anterior Eye Disease Study Section for the NIH Center for Scientific Review. Dr. Chodosh has received funding from the NEI for his research involving ocular adenovirus infection for more than 14 consecutive years. His primary clinical and research interests include medical and surgical treatment of infectious and neoplastic disorders of the ocular surface, and visual restoration of complicated cases.

Col. Donald A. Gagliano, M.D., M.H.A., is executive director of the Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Vision Center of Excellence. In 1995, he was awarded the Army Surgeon General’s A Designator in recognition of his leadership and extensive international contributions as an ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Col. Gagliano also has had a wide range of military education, received numerous military awards and decorations, and led soldiers at every level of command, including the 30th Medical Brigade in Iraq, where he served as the surgeon who planned, integrated, and executed coalition combat health support during the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Alberta L. Orr, M.S.W., is coordinator of the New York City Coalition on Aging and Vision, in association with the Aging in New York Fund and the New York City Department for the Aging. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Hunter College, Florida State University, and Salus University, where she teaches courses on aging and vision loss, principles of vocational rehabilitation and independent living, and late-life human development. Previously, Orr served as executive director of the Disabilities Network of New York City, director of the National Aging Program at the American Foundation for the Blind, and executive director of the East Bronx Council on Aging. She has also reviewed grants for the Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and the NEI community awards program. In addition, she has written five books on aging and vision loss, and has been involved with the National Eye Health Education Program for the past 10 years.

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) The Nation’s Medical Research Agency includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.