Dr. Ian MacDonald
The Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alberta are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ian MacDonald as the inaugural holder of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation's Research Chair in Ophthalmology.
Funded by the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, the Research Chair in Ophthalmology is an endowment established to support ophthalmic research at the University of Alberta and the Regional Eye Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Thanks to community support and proceeds from the Full House Lottery, the Research Chair in Ophthalmology is a $3 million fund which will foster important research in various fields in Ophthalmology. The Research Chair will become an integral support for the research mission of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alberta.
"We're very honoured to name Dr. MacDonald as the inaugural Chair," said Andrew Otway, President and CEO of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. "Dr. MacDonald has a long and distinguished career and has been both a friend to our Foundation and a mentor to many in the field of Ophthalmology. He is the perfect fit for this position."
Ian M. MacDonald MSc, MD CM is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alberta.
Dr. MacDonald completed residency training in Family Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Ophthalmology residency training at the University of Ottawa, and Clinical Genetics fellowship training at the University of Ottawa, Queen's University, Kingston and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. He has been the President of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and President of the Association of Canadian University Professors of Ophthalmology. He is an Editor Emeritus of the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology and currently serves on the Editorial Board of Survey of Ophthalmology and the American Journal of Ophthalmology for Genetics. Prior to becoming Chair in Edmonton, in 1992 he was a Career Scientist of the Ontario Ministry of Health at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. MacDonald's areas of interest are inherited ocular disorders, in particular, maculopathies and choroideremia. In 2009, in recognition of his work in Canada to foster the development of academic Ophthalmology, he was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
"I'm honoured to be named inaugural chair of the Foundation's Research Chair in Ophthalmology," said Dr. MacDonald. "We're very grateful for the tremendous support shown to the Department from the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. This important endowment will provide us with stable funding for our future research."
Dr. MacDonald plans to use the funds to support trainees who will be engaged in studies on the prevention of blindness, and, in particular, his efforts to build a centre for ocular gene therapy at the Regional Eye Centre.
The Regional Eye Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital plays a major role in eye health in Western Canada. Through its affiliation with the University of Alberta's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, the Regional Eye Centre serves as a major teaching and research facility in our province, serving patients from the Edmonton area, northern Alberta, northern B.C. and the Northwest Territories.