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The most important focus of my research has been the epidemiologic and genetic factors that contribute to macular degeneration, the leading cause of visual impairment among the elderly in numerous countries around the world. For this work, I am extremely honored to receive the Mildred Weisenfeld Award. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has been a large part of my career for approximately 3 decades, and I am very grateful for this recognition. I was Chair of the first ARVO committee on Women and Minorities when I was a trustee from 1992 to 1996, and then became vice president. Although there were only a few women in leadership positions at that time, ARVO is making strides in showcasing the research of all of its members, including the 40% of ARVO membership now composed of women. I share the distinct honor of being one of only two women who have received this award, joining Dr. Joan Miller among a group of 32 awardees since 1986. Like so many of your stories, my story begins and ends with inspiration. I have been inspired to spend a large part of my career focused on the chronic disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive disease affecting the central part of the retina. I am both grateful and humbled by the inspiration I drew from great scientists in the past, from the many colleagues who have supported me, my family and friends, many of whom are here today, and my patients. I would like to tell their story as well as mine about how we began to focus on macular degeneration. As one of only a few women in medicine at the beginning of my career, I was also inspired by historic trailblazers in the field. Dr. Isabel Barrows was the first female ophthalmologist in the United States and practiced in the late 1800s. Mildred Weisenfeld was also a pioneer and a trailblazer. She was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in 1936. Her goal was to find more answers about her disease, and during her life, she led several efforts to support research. She founded the Fight for Sight organization in 1946 and in 1986, she established the Mildred Weisenfeld Award for Excellence in Ophthalmology. ARVO also generated a lot of friendships and collaborations and many of those continue to this day. It was also an opportunity for some of our family to get together and I have drawn a lot of inspiration from my family. My parents, as firstgeneration immigrants, were role models for hard work and perseverance. They always encouraged me to pursue higher education and inspired me to go to medical school. During medical school, I became interested in why diseases occur at different rates within different populations, the causes of these diseases, and how they could be prevented, which then inspired me to get another degree in epidemiology.

Macular Degeneration Epidemiology: Nature-Nurture, Lifestyle Factors, Genetic Risk, and Gene-Environment Interactions – The Weisenfeld Award Lecture