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Alumni

Our impact in saving sight globally

Graduates of the UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences residency and fellowship programs are in academic medical centers and private practices throughout the world. Let’s celebrate all the things that make our alumni great! Join us to connect and give back to support the next generation of alumni. Once a Badger, always a Badger!

  • (Pictured: Mary Van Horn Pratt in 2018)

honor

Distinguished Alumni Award

Each year the UW Ophthalmology Alumni Association recognizes an alum for outstanding service and commitment with the Distinguished Alumni Award, presented at the annual Alumni+Friends Reception during the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Learn more about the 2022 recipient, Don O. Kikkawa, MD, here.

Here is a list of past recipients.

2005: Steve W. Weber, MD, Residency 1975

2006: Earl G. Gloeckner, MD, Residency 1980, Fellowship-Pediatrics 1981

2007: C. Thomas Dow, MD, Residency 1978

2008: Richard Lewis, MD, Residency 1998

2010: Michael P. Vrabec, MD, Residency 1987

2012: Gregg Heatley, MD, Residency 1991, Fellowship-Glaucoma 1992

2013: Elmer Y Tu, MD, Residency 1992

2014: Francis Charles Sutula, MD, Fellowship-Oculoplastics 1979

2015: Richard E. Appen, MD, Residency 1972

2016: Karla J. Johns, MD, Residency 1984

2017: Devin A. Harrison, MD, Residency 1993

2018: Gregory L. Skuta, MD, Residency 1985

2019: W. Andrew Harris, MD, Residency 1974

2020: Mary V. Pratt, MD, Residency, 1965, Fellowship-Medical Retina, 1966

2022: Don O. Kikkawa, MD, FACS, Fellowship-Oculoplastics, 1992

Connect

Stay Engaged

There are many ways to stay connected to your fellow alumni and the department:

  • Attend the annual Alumni+Friends Reunion held each fall at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. Watch our events page for the latest information.
  • Send us a note to let us know what’s new.
  • Join the alumni board of directors. We meet two times per year to hear department updates and discuss ways to improve engagement and support current learners. Reach out to learn more.

Give Back

Extend our vision

Gifts help the department continue to conduct high-quality research and to provide state-of-the-art clinical care and world-class training for tomorrow’s leaders in eye care and vision research.  This support—from patients, families, alumni, faculty and other friends—provides the extra margin essential for excellence. Read more below about our latest priority: a new surgical skills training facility.

INTRODUCING THE NEW SURGICAL SKILLS TRAINING FACILITY

The UW-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is embarking on an exciting new chapter with the launch of a modern Surgical Skills Training Facility in the UW Health University Station Clinic. We’re working to right-size our training space in a central location with equipment that creates a more realistic, hands-on experience for learners.

We believe that the foundation of surgical training occurs in the surgical training wet lab, where learners gain skills, familiarity and confidence in the steps of ophthalmic surgery prior to caring for patients in the operating room. 

This expanded space will:

  • Allow one faculty member to train multiple learners at one time and promote peer-to-peer interactions.
  • Expand continuing education and training class offerings for alumni and community providers as new advances occur.
  • Create a more realistic hands-on experience, preparing our learners for the situations they will encounter in surgery.
  • Provide ease of access and new opportunities for learning before, after or between clinic time as well as on weekends.

Watch the video to learn more.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 to offset the annual operating costs and to honor Dr. Andrew T. Thliveris, (Residency 1998), Residency Program Director, for his dedication and care to training the next generation of ophthalmic surgeons.

Make your gift today!

 

A TRIBUTE TO ANDREW T. THLIVERIS

Andrew T Thliveris, MD, PhDResidency education and the name Andrew T. Thliveris, MD, PhD go hand-in-hand at the DOVS.  Thliveris completed his residency at UW in 1998 and has been overseeing resident training since 2007. His care and dedication to training the next generation of ophthalmic surgeons are evident. Dr. Richard Dortzbach, Professor Emeritus and 1967 residency alumni, wants to see that dedication recognized in the new Surgical Skills Training Facility. The new lab will bear a plaque that reads in part:

In Appreciation of Andrew T. Thliveris, MD, PhD

From His Colleagues, Learners, and Friends

Through the generosity of Dr. Dortzbach and Dr. Tom Stevens, Professor Emeritus, and others, we are nearly to our goal of $100,000. Join us with a gift to advance residency education and honor Dr. Thliveris.

Make your gift today!

  • The new surgical skills training facility will be located in the garden level at the University Station Clinic and include 10 work stations and the Eye-Si surgical simulator.
  • Kenneth Taylor, MD (Residency, 2022) and Daniel Fary, MD in the existing wet lab space at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital. This space can hold no more than two, limiting training opportunities.
  • The Ronald M. Burde, MD, Microsurgical Simulation Laboratory, Montefiore Health and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY is the inspiration for the new DOVS lab.

Alumni News

  • Remembering Dr. Alice McPherson
  • Kikkawa honored as 2022 Distinguished Alumni
  • DOVS Announces Transition for Phase 2 Medical Student Education Director
  • DOVS Fellowship Alum Catherine Macaraig, ’94, Brings Hope to Philippines Patients
Dr. Alice McPherson

Remembering Dr. Alice McPherson

Jan 20 2023

With great sadness, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences mourns the passing of notable alumna, retina specialist, and vision research advocate Alice McPherson, MD on January 16th, 2023.

Read More

Kikkawa honored as 2022 Distinguished Alumni

Sep 21 2022

Don O. Kikkawa, MD, FACS is the recipient of the 2022 UW-Madison Ophthalmology Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Kikkawa, who completed his fellowship in oculoplastics at UW-Madison in 1992, said he was drawn to the…

Read More

DOVS Announces Transition for Phase 2 Medical Student Education Director

Jul 05 2022

A 15-year veteran of the University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences will soon be stepping aside from his role as Director of Medical Student Education. But he’ll be handing the reigns to…

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Catherine Macaraig, MD, visits the UW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

DOVS Fellowship Alum Catherine Macaraig, ’94, Brings Hope to Philippines Patients

Apr 06 2022

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic – a time when very few people were voluntarily seeking surgical consults – patients from across the Philippines were still lining up to see Catherine Macaraig, MD.…

Read More

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Last updated on: December 8, 2022