The American Academy of Ophthalmology proudly honors H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, with the Laureate Recognition Award in 2023. This honor is awarded to individuals who have made exceptional scientific and leadership contributions to the betterment of eye care, leading to the prevention of blindness and restoration of sight worldwide.
Dr. Hoskins is honored for his extraordinary, impactful leadership of the profession and for promoting new standards and quality of care in ophthalmology. While executive vice president of the Academy, Dr. Hoskins recognized the power of the emerging digital revolution and envisioned the opportunity to harness these new technologies to educate ophthalmologists and the public.
Dr. Hoskins originated the Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE®) Network, a global platform for ophthalmic education, which provides superb, clinically relevant and evidence-based educational programs that are used by ophthalmologists worldwide and are particularly impactful for ophthalmologists in under-resourced regions. He developed the first computer-based registry, the National Eyecare Outcomes Network (NEON) Cataract Surgery Database, which was an early iteration of the IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight). Dr. Hoskins also launched EyeSmart, a public-facing website that provides accurate ophthalmic information, and provided early guidance on EyeWiki®, a community-generated eye encyclopedia that has more than 8 million page views annually.
Dr. Hoskins implemented several programs that continue to impact ophthalmologists. By launching the Mid-Year Forum, he cultivated knowledge about public policy among U.S. ophthalmologists, engaging leaders (and eventually residents and fellows) from specialty and state societies. He initiated the Leadership Development Program that identifies, trains and develops future leaders of state, subspecialty and specialized interest societies. Hundreds of ophthalmologists around the world now have the skills, knowledge and relationships to shape governmental policies and provide organizational leadership.
Dr. Hoskins established EyeNet® Magazine, the most respected and well-read non-peer-reviewed ophthalmology publication. Recognizing the value of perspective from leaders in other fields, he added a public trustee to the Academy’s board, the first medical professional association to do so. Dr. Hoskins also created the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives® (AAOE®), the Surgical Scope Fund, the Rotary Club Host Project and the Orbital Gala. He established this Laureate Recognition Award, making it particularly poignant to now award him with this honor.
Dr. Hoskins is a clinician, teacher and researcher. Authoring over 90 publications in refereed journals, his clinical research included trials of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and timolol for glaucoma, reliability indicators for visual field changes, the use of portable applanation tonometers and innovative treatments for childhood glaucomas.
As a principal investigator of the Collaborative Normal-Tension Glaucoma Study in 1998, a randomized clinical trial that is still widely referenced, Dr. Hoskins and his co-authors developed a template for collaborative multicenter clinical studies. He has given over 350 invited lectures in over 30 countries and was a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1978, he co-founded Glaucoma Research Foundation, an organization that provides education to glaucoma patients and has funded more than $70 million in glaucoma research. But most importantly, Dr. Hoskins was a skilled and devoted clinician, seeing patients for 45 years at Shaffer Associates Medical Group. His patient-centered, compassionate, and superb care provided the foundation for every successful endeavor.
Dr. Hoskins is an innovator with creative ideas and the savvy to implement them. He ushered the American Academy of Ophthalmology — and ophthalmic education — into the digital era, providing ophthalmologists worldwide with the resources to improve ophthalmic care and their patients’ lives. It is with great pleasure that the Academy welcomes H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, as the 2023 Academy laureate.