History
Charles L. Schepens, M.D. is known as the “father of modern retinal surgery.” A half-century ago, even while running a busy clinical practice, he saw the need for a research organization dedicated to exploring new ways to treat incurable eye disorders.
Originally called the Retina Foundation, the Institute he founded in 1950 is now named in his honor and is the largest independent eye research organization in the nation. The Institute has trained hundreds of scientists and physicians who work around the world, and created an innovative research environment that has led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs. The Schepens Eye Research Institute is an enduring expression of Dr. Schepens’ life as a visionary and compassionate clinician, educator and researcher.
In November of 1993, Dr. Schepens welcomed J. Wayne Streilein, Ph.D. as the Director of Research. Dr. Streilein, a noted ocular immunologist, shaped a renewed research mission that brought the entire spectrum of the biological sciences to bear on vision research. Under his leadership, first as Director of Research and then as President, the Institute’s research program expanded to include important new technologies such as gene therapy, stem cell research, nerve regeneration and tissue engineering. In 2004, Michael Gilmore, Ph.D. took over the leadership of the Institute as President and Director of Research, and again expanded the research program in the area of infectious diseases. Under his leadership the Institute has continued its long tradition of research excellence, and visionary innovation.
One of the most important academic relationships that the Institute enjoys is its affiliation with Harvard Medical School, which was formalized in 1991. Since that time, the Institute has established several endowed professorships in the Department of Ophthalmology, including the Charles L. Schepens Professorship currently held by Institute President Michael Gilmore, Ph.D. In 2001, the Institute established the Alice J. Adler Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. This fellowship, which is awarded each year to a talented young scientist who conducts research in vision and ophthalmology, was created through the 50th Anniversary Program for Scholars in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. This fellowship program joins the many training programs and joint research programs, which join the Institute to the Medical School and the other members of the family of affiliates.
In 1961, the Institute moved from 30 Chamber Street to its permanent home at 20 Staniford Street at the foot of Beacon Hill. The new building, designed to be a cutting edge research facility, incorporated the latest design elements to provide an optimal environment for its researchers. In 2004, a complete renovation of the building was completed, again creating a cutting-edge research environment. The colorful, sun-filled design won “Renovated Laboratory of the Year” in 2005 from R&D Magazine.
From its humble beginnings in a West End tenement building to its current position as the nation’s largest independent research organization, Schepens Eye Research Institute continues, through a continuum of discovery, to work toward a future in which blindness is prevented, alleviated and, ultimately, cured.
