(L to R) Dr. Peter M. Odell, clinical professor, ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medical College; Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, president and CEO, Lighthouse Guild; and Dr. Donald J. D’Amico, The John Milton McLean professor and chairman, Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Ophthalmology.


 
NEW YORK—Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, president and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, has been named the distinguished lecturer and recipient of The John Milton McLean Medal for 2024, the group announced. The prize is given by the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Ophthalmology in honor of Dr. McLean who was chairman of the department from 1939 to 1968. Dr. Roberts presented his lecture titled, “This Present Moment Used to Be the Unimaginable Future,” at Weill Cornell Medicine on May 17, 2024.





He discussed ARPA-H Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts (THEA , the national program he is leading that aims to bring together the expertise of vision scientists from multiple universities and laboratories to restore vision to people who are blind by transplanting a donor eye. “Recent advances in regenerative medicine and biomaterials may allow the functional reconnection of nerves and blood vessels to make this centuries-old dream a reality,” Dr. Roberts said.

To learn more about the effort to restore vision to people who are blind, read Vision Monday's feature Are We on the Way to Restoring Vision?