Nobel Laureate Guest Lecture
Dr. Schekman’s lecture focused on Parkinson’s disease with an emphasis on how basic science is being deployed to understand the molecular and cellular basis of the disease. He shared current knowledge of the molecules and cellular organelles that form the basis of certain genetic forms of Parkinson’s Disease and explained how a new effort, “Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s Disease,” seeks to mobilize an international collaborative research network to accelerate discovery in order to identify new targets for therapeutic intervention.
Awardees
Congratulations to our awardees, who were announced during Saturday’s CE sessions! Dr. Abraham Bromberg was named Alumnus of the Year; Dr. Vicki L. Hughes received the Michael G. Harris Distinguished Service Award; and Dr. Patsy Harvey received the Mert Flom Teaching Award.
Alumni Visionaries in Optometry
The weekend kicked off with the “Alumni Visionaries in Optometry” panel discussion with Dean Flanagan and six alumni speakers who are deans and leaders at other schools and colleges of optometry in North America: Drs. Joseph Bonanno, Kelly Nichols, Lewis Reich, Michael Twa, Stanley Woo, and Karla Zadnik. Their discussion, which was videotaped, ranged from how their time at Berkeley prepared them for leadership, to what they see are the greatest challenges – and opportunities – for the future of optometry. A video recording of the discussion will be available in the coming months.
Saturday’s program continued the theme of Alumni Visionaries in Optometry with lectures by all six alumni deans and leaders, as well as former Berkeley Optometry Dean Dennis Levi. A two-hour grand rounds session featuring Berkeley alumni presented cases on nodular episcleritis, neurosyphilis, and more. Speakers discussed case details, diagnostic testing, treatment options, systemic workup, and interdisciplinary management. After Saturday’s CE, 350+ alums gathered at the California Memorial Stadium’s University Club for our centennial reunion dinner celebration.
Sunday’s Golden Conference, “Neurodegenerative Diseases & the Eye,” was chaired by Dean Flanagan, and included six experts in the fields of parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and glaucoma. In addition to Dr. Randy Schekman’s lecture, Dr. Shane Liddelow from New York University gave a talk on “What We Know About Alzheimer’s Disease,” where he discussed the role of astrocyte functions in maintaining brain health during normal physiology and during multiple neurodegenerative diseases and other pathological conditions. The Thomas H. Peters Memorial Lecture, “An Immunologist’s View of Neurodegenerative Disease,” was presented by Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science professor, Karsten Gronert, and covered the regulation of immune cells and macroglia in retinal homeostasis and neurodegeneration by resident lipid mediator pathways.
Our centennial CE weekend was spectacularly successful – the Saturday sessions and dinner celebration sold out completely, the Sunday sessions nearly sold out, and the CE Office issued almost 400 CE certificates!
Photos
To see photos from the 2023 CE & Alumni Reunion Weekend, please click the button below.
Photos