On June 24, Harvard Medical School celebrated the establishment of the Charles Webster Downer Professorship of Ophthalmology and the appointment of Lloyd P. Aiello, MD, PhD, of Joslin Diabetes Center as the inaugural incumbent.
In his opening remarks, HMS Dean George Q. Daley, AB ’82, MD ’91, PhD, praised donor Charles Downer, AB ’64, MBA ’66, who endowed the professorship to honor pioneers in ophthalmology and to ensure that future generations benefit from ongoing advances in research, education, and clinical care.
Aiello earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an MD and a PhD in biochemistry from Boston University School of Medicine. After completing his residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, he joined Joslin, where he completed dual fellowships in clinical vitreoretinal care and translational research. He officially became a member of the Joslin staff in 1994 and has dedicated the past three decades to transforming diabetic eye care.
An appointment to an endowed professorship is the highest honor HMS can bestow upon a faculty member, with fewer than 3% of the School’s faculty holding these prestigious positions. |
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