Legacy Devers Eye Institute

The institute offers fee-for-service and charitable eye care. Part of its mission is to provide universal eye care in the Portland, Oregon, area.

The institute also trains post-graduate professionals and conducts research. Scientists from Devers have refined how to interpret visual field testing,{{cite journal |author1=L. Deng |author2=S. Demirel |author3=S.K. Gardiner |title=Reducing variability in visual field assessment through filtering that combines structural and functional information | journal=Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. | volume=13 | page=13813 | date= June 2014}} a standard part of the assessment of glaucoma. They have also improved corneal transplantation through innovations in DLEK (deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty){{cite journal|title=Endothelial Keratoplasty: From DLEK to DMEK | pmc=2880365 | pmid=20543930 |doi=10.4103/0974-9233.61210 | volume=17 | year=2010 | journal=Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol | pages=5–8 | last1 = Fernandez | first1 = MM | last2 = Afshari | first2 = NA| issue=1 |doi-access=free}} (mentioning the work of Devers ophthalmologist Mark Terry) and DSEK (Descemet's stripping with endothelial keratoplasty).{{cite web|url=http://www.ophthalmologyweb.com/Videos/26602-DSEK-Pearls-from-Mark-Terry-M-D/|title=DSEK Pearls from Mark Terry, M.D.|date=28 May 2008|work=ophthalmologyweb.com}}

The Devers Eye Institute was founded in 1959 thanks to a million-dollar bequest from Arthur Devers, a coffee merchant who suffered from retinal degeneration.{{cite journal |last=Rumler |first=J. |title=Renowned Devers Eye Institute Expands |date=January 2014|journal= The Scribe|location= Portland, Oregon |publisher=Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland |volume=32 |issue=1 |page=1}}

Good Samaritan Hospital hired Dr. Richard Chenoweth in 1972 as the first Chief of Ophthalmology. He was the first to publish on retinal toxicity secondary to gentamicin (a common antibiotic), acute placoid chorioretinitis from syphilis, and neuroretinopathy from intravenous contrast media. He helped develop ground-breaking treatments for diabetic retinopathy and retinal disease. He retired in 1990. He died in 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.visiongift.org/richard-dick-chenoweth-md/|title=Richard "Dick" Chenoweth, MD|work=visiongift.org}}{{cite web|url=https://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=richard-g-chenoweth&pid=196713839|title=Richard Chenoweth Obituary|work=oregonlive.com}}

The second Chief of Ophthalmology and first holder of the Chenoweth Chair was Dr. Edward Michael Van Buskirk, appointed in 1990. He helped understand the vascular effects of glaucoma medications and how decreased blood flow may relate to glaucoma. He was the President of the American Glaucoma Society and inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Glaucoma. He helped to pioneer the understanding of laser trabeculoplasty, a common treatment for glaucoma today. In 2001 the Good Samaritan Foundation established the Edward Michael Van Buskirk chair for ocular research in his honor.

The third Chief of Ophthalmology and second holder of the Chenoweth Chair was George A. “Jack” Cioffi, M.D, appointed in 2004.

The fourth Chief of Ophthalmology was James T. Rosenbaum. He is now chief emeritus.

The current Chief and holder of the Chenoweth Chair is Steve Mansberger, M.D., M.P.H.

In 2007, the Schnitzer/Novack Foundation gave the Institute one million dollars to endow the Thelma and Gilbert Schnitzer Comprehensive Glaucoma Center.{{cite web|url=https://news.ohsu.edu/2007/04/18/schnitzer-novack-foundation-donates-2-million-to-portland-s-two-nationally-known-eye-care-institutes|title=Schnitzer/Novack Foundation Donates $2 Million to Portland's Two Nationally Known Eye Care Institutes}}

The Institute's total endowment is now approximately twenty-five million dollars, held primarily by the Legacy Health Good Samaritan Foundation. Part of its research activity is supported through grants from the National Institutes of Health.

The Devers Eye Institute staff includes fourteen ophthalmologists, four physician fellows, two clinical optometrists, and four additional senior scientists performing research. The Discoveries in Sight Research Laboratory is headed by Claude Burgoyne, M.D., 2015 winner of the American Glaucoma Society Clinician Scientist Award.{{cite journal |last=Rumler |first=J. |title=Devers researchers in national spotlight|date=March 2015|journal= The Scribe|location= Portland, Oregon |publisher=Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland |volume=33 |issue=3 |page=1|url=http://associationpublications.com/flipbooks/msmp/2015/03_Mar/files/assets/basic-html/index.html#1}} The clinics are directed by Steve Mansberger, M.D., M.P.H., epidemiology section editor for the American Journal of Ophthalmology.{{cite web | url=http://www.ajo.com/content/ed_board_bios#mansberger| title=Editors biographies | work=American Journal of Ophthalmology | access-date=19 March 2016 }} The cornea service is headed by Mark Terry, M.D., 2016 recipient of the Eye Bank Association of America R. Townley Paton Award.{{cite web | url=http://restoresight.org/what-we-do/awards/r-townley-paton-award/ | title=R. Townley Paton Award | work=Eye Bank Association of America | access-date=19 March 2016}}

Notable former staff and graduates of the training program include—

• Jack Cioffi, Edward S. Harkness Professor of Ophthalmology, Columbia University
• Roger A. Dailey, Lester Jones Professor of Oculoplastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University and President emeritus of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• J. Crawford Downs, Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham{{cite web|url=http://www.uab.edu/medicine/ophthalmology/faculty/cdowns|title=UAB - SOM - Dept of Ophthalmology - J. Crawford Downs, Ph.D.|work=uab.edu|access-date=2016-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207050937/http://www.uab.edu/medicine/ophthalmology/faculty/cdowns|archive-date=2016-02-07|url-status=dead}}
• Joseph Robertson, past president of the Oregon Health & Science University
• Ian A. Sigal, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh{{cite web|url=http://www.ocularbiomechanics.com/People.html|title=Laboratory of Ocular Biomechanics|work=ocularbiomechanics.com}}
• J. Timothy Stout, Chief of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine{{cite web|url=http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/10/29/baylor-college-of-medicine-appoints-dr-timothy-stout-chair-of-ophthalmology/|title=Baylor College of Medicine Appoints Dr. Timothy Stout Chair Of Ophthalmology|work=BioNews Texas}}
• Michael Straiko, innovative corneal transplant surgeon{{cite news | last=Samanlego | first=Chiles Aedam R. | title=New therapeutic dimensions in corneal transplantation | newspaper=Eyeworld Daily News | page=20| date=29 April 2014 | url=http://daily.eyeworld.org/i/303672-2014-ascrs-asoa-boston-daily-news-tuesday/19 | access-date=6 February 2016 }}{{cite news| last=Boyle | first= Erin L. | title=DMEK experts offer pearls, pitfalls for performing procedure | newspaper=Eyeworld | date= February 2014 | url=http://www.eyeworld.org/article-dmek-experts-offer-pearls--pitfalls-for-performing-procedure|access-date=6 February 2016}}
• Peter Veldman, corneal transplant surgeon and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago.{{cite web|url=https://ophthalmology.uchicago.edu/faculty/peter-veldman-md|title=Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Chicago}}
• Ahmad M.Alshaarawy, a former cornea research fellow, now a practicing cornea surgeon in research Institute of ophthalmology, Egypt, and Cornea Clinic; a private center.{{cite web|url=https://cornea.clinic|title=Cornea Clinic}}

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Category:1959 establishments in Oregon

Category:Medical and health organizations based in Oregon

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Category:Organizations based in Portland, Oregon