Dr. Jerry Niederkorn, Professor of Ophthalmology and Microbiology, will receive the 2019 Proctor Medal in April from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in honor of his years of research in ophthalmology and visual science.

Presented annually since 1949, the Proctor Medal recognizes outstanding research in the basic or clinical sciences as applied to ophthalmology. The medal was the first ophthalmology-related award to honor nonclinicians in the field.

Dr. Niederkorn, who holds the Royal C. Miller Chair in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Research in Ophthalmology and the George A. and Nancy P. Shutt Professorship in Medical Science, joined UT Southwestern in 1977 after earning his doctorate in zoology (University of Arkansas in Fayetteville) and biology (University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg). He is the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and the first UT Southwestern faculty member to be awarded the ARVO Proctor Medal.

Dr. Niederkorn’s research activities focus on the immunology of corneal transplantation, the role of the immune system in controlling the growth and metastasis of intraocular melanoma, immunobiology and pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis, and immune privilege of the eye.

“This is fantastic news for Jerry and the Department,” said Dr. James McCulley, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and holder of the The David Bruton, Jr. Chair in Ophthalmology. “Being awarded the Proctor Medal is a well-deserved milestone recognizing Jerry’s years of major scientific accomplishments, including identifying the immune mechanisms that cause rejection of corneal transplants.”

ARVO will formally bestow the medal on Dr. Niederkorn at its next April 2019 annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Dr. Niederkorn will present the Proctor Award Lecture.