JAMES P. GILLS, who trained at Hopkins as a resident in the 1960s, is the founder and director of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He was the first ophthalmologist in the United States to dedicate his practice to the treatment of cataracts via the use of intraocular lens implants and has since performed more cataract and lens implant surgeries than anyone else in the world. St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute is known for providing an exceptional amount of charitable care to patients.
In addition to his medical pursuits, Dr. Gills has been successful in real estate. Before establishing the James P. Gills Professorship in Ophthalmology, he made the lead commitment, with a gift of land, for the endowment of the Frank B. Walsh Professorship in Neuro-ophthalmology. Dr. Gills serves on the Wilmer Advisory Council.
“Wilmer is without a doubt the best place in the world to be trained.” – James P. Gills
Held by Neil M. Bressler
Dr. NEIL M. BRESSLER has been a member of the Wilmer Eye Institute’s faculty since 1988 and is currently chief of the Retina Division and the inaugural James P. Gills Professor of Ophthalmology. He specializes in retinal diseases, with special interests in diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.
Dr. Bressler’s main research interests have been collaborative efforts in clinical trials of common retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, having chaired several NIH-sponsored and industry-sponsored multicenter randomized clinical trials and authored almost 300 peer-reviewed publications. He is a past chair of the NIH-sponsored Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network and was responsible for guidelines, policies, protocol development, as well as implementation, and for facilitating Network operations in a way that maintains academic integrity and optimal clinical trial performance. He also has chaired the National Eye Institute’s Data and Safety Monitoring Committee for intramural clinical trials and the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel. Dr. Bressler is currently editor-in-chief of JAMA Ophthalmology.