Renowned Bascom Palmer Glaucoma Expert Leads the American Glaucoma Society
Dr. Steven Gedde pledges to support the society’s mission of improving the lives of all individuals with glaucoma by advancing education, research, health care access and advocacy.
Steven Gedde, M.D., Bascom Palmer Eye Institute’s vice chair of education and the John G. Clarkson Chair in Ophthalmology, has been named president of the American Glaucoma Society (AGS). AGS is one of ophthalmology’s most influential subspecialty societies, with more than 1,600 members in 17 countries.
“Dr. Gedde has been a true leader in his time at Bascom Palmer,” said Eduardo Alfonso, M.D., director and chair of Bascom Palmer and the Kathleen and Stanley J. Glaser Endowed Professor in Ophthalmology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “His research has redefined glaucoma care, opening up new options for patients while Dr. Gedde also served as director of one of the top ophthalmology residency programs in the nation. AGS will benefit greatly from his leadership.”
An Expert in Glaucoma
A renowned glaucoma expert, Dr. Gedde is a prolific clinical researcher dedicated to improving patient care through clinical trials.
“Patients are the primary focus in my work as both a physician and researcher,” Dr. Gedde said. “Decisions in medical care should always be directed toward optimizing the health and well-being of the individual patient. Similarly, my research pursuits have been centered around enhancing the diagnosis and management of patients with glaucoma.”
Those pursuits have led to more than 400 articles, book chapters and abstracts. Dr. Gedde chaired the “Tube Versus Trabeculectomy Study” that showed tube shunts, which customarily were for high-risk refractory glaucoma, should be expanded. He also helmed the “Primary Tube Versus Trabeculectomy” study that compared the safety and efficacy of tube shunt surgery and trabeculectomy for patients with previous cataract and/or glaucoma surgery.
An Advocate for Medical Education
In addition to his laudable research profile, Dr. Gedde is an unwavering supporter of medical education. During his 21 years as Bascom Palmer’s residency program director, the program was consistently recognized as one of the best ophthalmology training programs in the United States.
“I was allowed to support our residents at a formative stage in their careers and build a program fostering a culture of excellence and lifelong learning,” Dr. Gedde said. “Helping residents to develop their clinical and surgical skills challenges my depth of understanding, and I’m constantly learning alongside my students by refining my perspective through their insights and curiosity.”
As vice chair of education, he leads Bascom Palmer’s innovative educational portfolio, including the Global Center for Ophthalmic Education, an acclaimed institution that promotes excellence in learning and teaching while disseminating ophthalmic knowledge to the worldwide ophthalmic community.
Patients are the primary focus in my work as both a physician and researcher. Decisions in medical care should always be directed toward optimizing the health and well-being of the individual patient.
Dr. Steven Gedde
Among his many accolades, Dr. Gedde has received the Excellence in Health Care Educator of the Year award, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Straatsma Award for Excellence in Resident Education and the Senior Faculty Educator of the Year Award from the Miller School.
Nationally, Dr. Gedde has served as the president of the Program Director Council, member of the Match Oversight Committee for the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology, chair of the Glaucoma Self-Assessment Committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and chair of AGS’s Education and Communication Committee.
Dr. Gedde has been honored with Secretariat Awards and a Life Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the AGS Lecture and the President’s Award from the American Glaucoma Society and the Boberg-Ans Prize from the Danish Ophthalmological Society. He was named to the Ophthalmologist Power List in 2022 and 2024.
Dr. Gedde joins Douglas Anderson, M.D., and David S. Greenfield, M.D., as current Bascom Palmer faculty members who have served as president of the AGS.
“As president of the American Glaucoma Society, I will support the society’s mission of improving the lives of all individuals with glaucoma by advancing education, research, health care access and advocacy,” Dr. Gedde said. “I hope to expand educational content on the new AGS website. Remote learning has grown exponentially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many AGS members have developed a library of narrated PowerPoint presentations. Collecting these lectures and housing them on the website, along with surgical videos and clinical images, would create a valuable learning resource.”
Tags: American Glaucoma Society, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Dr. Steven Gedde, glaucoma, ophthalmology