Tribute to J. Lawton Smith and Joel S. Glaser

Tribute to J. Lawton Smith and Joel S. Glaser A tribute to 2 icons of neuro-ophthalmology, Joel S. Glaser, MD, and J. Lawton Smith, MD, was given by friends and colleagues during the 47th Annual Residents' Days meeting at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI) in Miami on June 18, 2011. Both passed away earlier this year. Dr. Edward Norton, BPEI's founder and first chairman, had a profound interest in neuro-ophthalmology and re-cruited Lawton Smith from Duke in 1962 as Bascom Palmer's third faculty member. At that time, there were only 7 neuro-ophthalmologists in the world. Smith enjoyed a prolific 31-year career at BPEI until his retirement in 1993. In 1970, Joel Glaser joined the faculty and, with the addition of Dr. Norman Schatz, these 3 neuro-ophthalmologists trained close to 100 fellows to carry on the tradition of excellence in neuro-ophthalmology worldwide. The 90-minute tribute began with a presentation by Dr. Byron Lam, who now heads the neuro-ophthalmology service at BPEI. Lam recapped highlights of the careers of Smith and Glaser, including videos of their differing teaching techniques. Dr. Lanning Kline, who completed a fellowship at Bascom Palmer in 1979 and now serves as chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Ala-bama in Birmingham, spoke about Joel Glaser's 3 pas-sions. The first was medicine. Known as a ‘‘scholar's scholar,'' Glaser was an exceptional writer creating Neuro- Ophthalmology, a landmark textbook in the field, and authored more than 180 peer-reviewed articles. His second passion was music. A musical virtuoso, Glaser was a con-cert cellist who brought his cello everywhere he went. His third and primary passion in life was his family. He was devoted to his wife Irena who passed away in 1998; to his children, Larah Kirschner, Benjamin, Jacob, and Owen; and to his granddaughter, Mayan. (A new grandson, Joseph Joel Kirschner, was born in April and named after his grandfather.) One could not mention Glaser's family without the mention of Norman Schatz, his inseparable lifelong friend. Like brothers, the 2 men worked side-by-side, often completing each other's sentences, humorous stories, and jokes. Kline emphasized that Glaser was guided by Judaism and its ethical teachings-which influenced every facet of his life. Former Bascom Palmer fellows Drs. Steven Galetta (1988), Robert Sergott (1980), Thomas Carlow (1972), and Jonathan Trobe (1977) and Anat Kesler (1996) sent video tributes about Glaser. The collective memories were of Glaser as a dear friend, teacher, mentor, scholar, and meticulous writer. A tribute from fellow Dr. Bradley Farris (1986) portrayed Smith as a humble charismatic teacher with a down-to-earth southern style complete with memorable antics and idiomatic expressions. For much of his career, he was considered one of the world's most prominent neuro-ophthalmologists, and yet it was teaching that he considered his greatest contribution to the field. Farris included comments from Dr. R. Michael Siatkowski (1992) men-tioning fond memories of Smith's kindness, paternal love, and deep, passionate Christian faith. After a touching tribute of friendship from Miami neurosurgeon, Dr. Linda Sternau, Dr. Robert Daroff shared several humorous vignettes of Smith and Glaser in their early days. Dr. Noble (Nobby) David followed with amusing and witty stories of Smith when they were medical students at Duke University. Describing Smith as irre-pressible, David moved to Miami in 1962 to set up a neurology service at the Veterans Administration's Hospital. Shortly thereafter, ophthalmic photographer Johnny Justice moved to Miami from Durham, followed by Daroff in 1968, and the group began collaborations that would last for decades. Dr. Robert Tomsak (1980) praised Smith as a superb teacher, remarkable man, and brilliant neuro-ophthalmologist. Dr. Grant Liu (1993) spoke of Smith as a mentor and of Glaser as a scholar and close friend. He emphasized that Glaser always put life into perspective outside of the practice of medicine. Dr. Kon Yong Goh (1995) sent a PowerPoint presentation that reiterated the mentorship and friendship he had received through the years from Schatz and Glaser. Dr. Schatz recalled his early days at Bascom Palmer in the 1960s, doing a fellowship with Smith to become one of Section Editor: Kathleen B. Digre, MD J. Lawton Smith, MD Joel S. Glaser, MD 294 Lam: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2011; 31: 294-295 Neuro-Ophthalmology News Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. the first neurologists trained in neuro-ophthalmology. Then he told the group what many already knew: he and Glaser were ‘‘joined at the hip.'' He then introduced Benjamin and Jacob Glaser who attended the tribute in honor of their father. Dr. Eduardo Alfonso, chair of BPEI, showed a movie of Joel Glaser batting at a faculty-fellow softball game in the 1980s. Alfonso recognized the lasting influence that Lawton Smith and Joel Glaser have made to the field of neuro-ophthalmology. The tribute session concluded with Dr. Sreedhar Potarazu (1995) announcing the establishment of a Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Joel Glaser, MD, & Lawton Smith, MD, Endowed Fund In Neuro-Ophthalmology. This en-dowment will perpetuate their lasting legacy. For more information, please contact John Soucy, executive director of development at Bascom Palmer, at [phone] or [e-mail]. The tribute was videotaped and will be posted on the BPEI website, www.bascompalmer.org. Byron L. Lam, MD Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Miami, Florida 10th Meeting of the European Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, Barcelona, Spain, June 18-21, 2011 The 10th biennial meeting of the European Neuro- Ophthalmology Society (EUNOS) was held in Barcelona, Spain, on June 18-21, 2011, hosted by Professor Jorge Arruga, Chairman of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain. The meeting was a wonderful mix of keynote lectures, free papers, posters, and exciting round-table discussions. There were al-most 400 attendees from all 5 continents. The meeting started on Saturday with 5 courses on optical coherence tomography, pupillary disorders, involuntary ocular movements, congenital and metabolic optic neuropathies, and drug toxicity of the retina and visual pathways. During the meeting, there were 30 platform presentations covering a wide range of topics: neu-roimaging, optic neuropathies, retrochiasmal lesions and nonorganic visual loss, visual pathway tumors, ocular move-ments, and pupils. Also 150 posters on various subjects were presented during 3 sessions. The new format of round-table discussions on controversial topics was very provocative and led to lively discussions with vigorous audience participation. The keynote lectures were as follows: 1. Mitochondrial optic neuropathies: Understanding the pathogenic mechanism and towards a therapy- Dr. Valerio Carelli (Italy). 2. Epigenetics in neuronal and glial disorders- Dr. Manel Esteller (Spain). 3. Neuroprothesis and neuroengineering in neuro-ophthalmology- Dr. Eduardo Ferna´ndez Jover (Spain). 4. Paraneoplastic neuro-ophthalmologic syndromes- Dr. Francesc Graus (Spain). 5. Saccades, scanpaths and biomarkers in neurological disease-the story so far-Dr. Christopher Kennard (United Kingdom). 6. Some facts about myths in neuro-ophthalmology-Dr. Ruth Huna-Baron (Israel). There was also an excellent social program, beginning with a lovely welcome reception on Saturday, June 18. The following evening, the attendees were taken to the National Museum of Catalonian Art in the beautiful Palau National. This is located atop a ridge with a magnificent panoramic view of the city. The evening culminated, with the attendees watching a colorful water and music show at the magic fountain of Montjuic. The meeting was one of the largest and most successful in the history of EUNOS. After 6 years as president, Robert McFadzean (Glasgow, United Kingdom) was succeeded by Christopher Kennard (Oxford, United Kingdom). One ad-ditional highlight was the presence ofWilliam F. Hoyt,MD, who celebrated his 85th birthday (Fig. 1). The next EUNOS meeting will be held in Oxford, United Kingdom, in 2013. Hope to see you there! Ruth Huna-Baron, MD Goldschleger Eye Institute Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Tel Hashomer, Israel FIG. 1. Jorge Arruga, MD (Spain) and William F. Hoyt, MD (United States). Neuro-Ophthalmology News Huna-Baron: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2011; 31: 294-295 295 Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.