SAN FRANCISCO—Harry A. Zink, MD, is the new president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Zink’s tenure as president began on Jan. 1, 2006, taking over for out-going Academy leader Susan H. Day, MD.

Dr. Zink has held numerous positions at the Academy.  He was a Trustee-at-Large from 1995-1997, a member of the Council from 1993-1995, Chairman of the Membership Advisory Committee, and Chairman of the Comprehensive Ophthalmology Base Panel.  He has also been a member of the EyeNet Editorial Advisory Board, Strategic Assessment Planning Task Force, Low Vision Rehabilitation Committee and Task Force on Subspecialty Relations.

Dr. Zink received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and completed his residency in ophthalmology and a research fellowship in glaucoma at Barnes Hospital-Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis in 1976. He served on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University as an assistant clinical professor, where he received the Outstanding Teaching Award in 1986.

“I have enjoyed my career as a physician and ophthalmologist, and I look forward to serving as president of the Academy, said Dr. Zink. “Ophthalmology has been a rewarding profession that meets a need in society and is appreciated and valued by patients, and has the benefits of many new and effective eye care therapies. I am thrilled to lead the Academy during this exciting time in ophthalmology.”

Dr. Zink, a comprehensive ophthalmologist with a subspecialty interest in glaucoma, is a member of a four-physician practice in Wooster, Ohio.