The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Academy President Anne L. Coleman, MD, PhD, are pleased to recognize Bartly J. Mondino, MD, as a guest of honor at AAO 2020 Virtual.
Dr. Mondino is the current director of the UCLA Stein Eye Institute (SEI), chair of the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology, affiliation chair of the Doheny Eye Institute (DEI) and the Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, Endowed Chair in the Department of Ophthalmology. He has chaired the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology and directed SEI for nearly 27 years, and was instrumental in the DEI’s affiliation with SEI.
Under Dr. Mondino's leadership, the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology developed and currently operates five clinical eye centers: SEI Santa Monica, SEI Calabasas and three Doheny Eye Center UCLA locations in Pasadena, Arcadia and Orange County. The department has residency and fellowship programs at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System at West Los Angeles and Sepulveda. Its EyeSTAR and EyeMBA residency programs are unique in ophthalmology. Dr. Mondino has raised over $317 million, including funding for 10 fellowships, and was involved in the establishment of 33 endowed chairs. He oversaw construction of the Edie & Lew Wasserman building and the renovation and seismic upgrade of the original Jules Stein Building.
Dr. Mondino currently serves on the California Medical Association’s scientific advisory panel on ophthalmology, the Braille Institute’s medical advisory board and the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research/Alliance for Eye and Vision Research board of directors. He is an observer on the DEI board of directors.
He is a past president of the Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology and served on the board of directors of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science for nine years. He has also served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Ophthalmology and Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. He co-chaired the Corneal Diseases Program Planning Panel for the National Eye Institute (NEI) Vision Research Program Planning Subcommittee in 1997-1998 and served on the NEI’s Visual Sciences A Study Section from 1984 to 1988.
Dr. Mondino was named executive vice president of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) in 2005, after serving on the AUPO board of trustees for six years. During his 10-year tenure, he oversaw the addition of medical student educators and research directors as associate membership categories and the establishment of the AUPO Fellowship Compliance Committee, Central Application Service, salary survey and chair mentoring programs. He was also instrumental in creating the AUPO/AAO Straatsma Award for Excellence in Resident Education and the Excellence in Medical Student Education Award.
He has authored 316 publications on corneal and external eye diseases and immunology, including 109 publications as first author. He maintained two NEI RO1 research grants for nearly 20 years. He has given 21 named lectureships and more than 319 lectures. He has received multiple honors from the Academy, including the Lifetime Achievement Honor Award, the Senior Achievement Award and the Secretariat Award. He has also received numerous awards from other organizations, including a Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Manpower Award, an RPB Senior Scientific Investigator Award, a Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionary Award and a John Milton McLean Medal.
Dr. Mondino is a true leader with unparalleled wisdom and knowledge. I am honored to have him as my mentor and colleague, and to recognize him as an AAO 2020 Guest of Honor.