Department of Ophthalmology to Graduate 100th Resident
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences will host the 100th Graduate Celebration and Alumni Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Friday (June 28) at the Texas Tech Club, 5050 University Ave.
The event will celebrate the Department of Ophthalmology’s history and graduating its 100th graduate from the residency program. The department was established in 1971 with George S. Tyner, M.D., serving as the first chairman. Tyner was appointed by Founding Dean of the School of Medicine John Aure Buesseler, M.D., Ph.D.
David McCartney, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, said the department has succeeded in educating and training exceptional ophthalmologists for West Texas and beyond as well as conducting research in the field.
“This event marks a huge milestone for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences,” McCartney said.
Some of the Department of Ophthalmology’s history includes:
- Mary Van Horn Pratt, M.D., became the first full-time faculty member in the winter of 1973.
- The three-year residency program began in 1976 with one resident, Anthony Weber, M.D., who later became the first graduate of the program in 1979.
- By 1983, the program expanded to three residents per year for a total of nine residents with 10 faculty members.
- Since the department’s inception, it has been home to the Great Plains Lions Eye Bank which is a nonprofit organization founded by the Lions Club International, with a mission to reduce the waiting lists for corneal transplant surgery.
The 2013 resident graduates are Charles Cohn, M.D., Prashanthi Girdhar, M.D., and Jonathan Kaufman, M.D. Kaufman was listed as the 100th resident.
“It feels great to be the 100th resident,” Kaufman said. “The ophthalmology program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is one of the top surgical programs in the country. But besides clinical and surgical skills, I have learned what it takes to become an ethical and moral clinician.”
For more breaking news and experts, follow @ttuhscnews on Twitter.
Related Stories
Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience
Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.
Moseley Named Permian Basin Regional Dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing
Kelly Moseley, DHSc, R.N., has been named the TTUHSC School of Nursing regional dean in the Permian Basin.
TTUHSC School of Nursing to Celebrate New YWCA Location
Community members in central Lubbock now have access to health care services and prenatal programs at one location inside the YWCA.
Recent Stories
TTUHSC Researchers Seek Novel Therapies for Chronic Pain
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH recently awarded a $1.94 million grant to Mahmoud Salama Ahmed, Ph.D., and his project team from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at TTUHSC. Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy.
TTUHSC and TTUHSC El Paso Named to National Academy of Inventors Top 100
For the third consecutive year in a row, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) ranked the Texas Tech University System (TTU System) among the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents for 2024. The TTU System, which includes Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and TTUHSC El Paso, ranked 75th.
TTUHSC Recognizes Student Research During Amarillo Research Symposium
More than 100 student and trainee researchers from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) presented research findings at the 2025 Student Research Day on April 11.