Roger F. Meyer Lectureship in Cornea

Helping to train individuals to become ophthalmologists and cornea specialists stands out as a highlight of Dr. Roger F. Meyer's years on the faculty of the U-M Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Roger F. Meyer, MD
Dr. Roger F. Meyer

"I enjoyed teaching and getting to know the residents and fellows," says Dr. Meyer, who joined the faculty in 1975 and retired in 2001. A gift from his wife, Judy F. Gordon, DVM., to endow the Roger F. Meyer Lectureship in Cornea will ensure that Dr. Meyer's contributions to education continue.

"The endowment of the Meyer Lectureship will permit us to attract outstanding teachers and innovators as speakers," says Alan Sugar, MD, associate chair of the Department and chief of the Cornea Service. "And while we will be honored to have the leaders in our field as visiting professors, the visitors will also be highly honored to have Roger's name associated with their teaching. Roger spent more than three decades as a renowned corneal surgeon, teacher, and clinical researcher. This lectureship recognizes his exceptional service to his residents, his fellows, and his patients."

Dr. Meyer earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and his medical degree at Ohio State University. He completed his ophthalmology residency back at U-M and fellowships in cornea transplantation immunology and cornea transplantation at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Florida. He served as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force and as director of aeromedical service at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan. His clinical research included helping to develop corneal transplantation techniques aimed at making the procedure more effective.

"It was very rewarding to restore vision to patients by performing corneal transplants, replacing the failed cornea and implanting a new cornea that could function," Dr. Meyer says.

The Meyer Lectureship was inaugurated during Fall Reunion Day at the Kellogg Eye Center on September 23, 2011. "It's a great honor to be recognized in this way and to have a legacy that will remain in perpetuity," he says.

Roger F. Meyer Lecturers

  • 2020 - Ula V. Jurkunas, MD
    Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology
    Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 2019 -  Elmer Y. Tu, MD
    Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
    University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine, Chicago, Il
  • 2018 - Todd Margolis MD, PhD
    Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
    Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
  • 2017 - Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD
    Louis Block Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
    University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences
  • 2016 - Reza Dana, MD, M.SC, MPH
    Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology
    Vice-Chairman and Associate Chief of Ophthalmology for Academic Programs
    Director, Cornea & Refractive Surgery, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
    Senior Scientist, Schepens Eye Research Inst./Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School
  • 2015 - Albert S. Jun, MD, PhD
    Maurice E. Langham, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology
    Chief, Cornea, Cataract, and External Disease Division
    Vice Chair for Education
    Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
  • 2014 - Bennie H. Jeng, MD, MS
    Professor and Chair
    Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
    University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • 2013 - Anthony J. Aldave, MD
    Professor of OphthalmologyChief, Cornea Service                               
    Director, Cornea and Refractive Surgery FellowshipThe Jules Stein Eye Institute
  • 2012 - Sanjay V. Patel, MD
    Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology
    Mayo Clinic
  • 2011 - Alan Sugar, MD
    Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
    Kellogg Eye Center, Michigan Medicine

How to Make a Gift

To make a gift or to learn about multiple giving options, please the Office of Development at 734-763-0875.

On behalf of the Department, thank you for your support.