Progress at the Kellogg Eye Center stems from collaboration and teamwork. We are grateful for the partnership of the many patients, families, community members and alumni who are part of our team. They make our work possible, and it is an honor to share their stories.
Family Establishes Professorship to Support Ocular Oncology Research and Education
Grateful for the compassionate and cutting-edge care Marilyn Witham received following her ocular cancer diagnosis, the Witham family established the Richard N. and Marilyn K. Witham Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences professorship. “This professorship will enable our ocular oncology program to grow and thrive, with the goal of helping patients in Michigan and around the world through research and education,” said Dr. Hakan Demirci, the inaugural Witham Professor.
Read more about the Richard N. and Marilyn K. Witham Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
Bequest Advances Macular Degeneration Research
Unforeseen Michigan connection leads to estate gifts to support age-related macular degeneration (AMD) research at the Kellogg Eye Center and Alzheimer’s Research at the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
Read more about the Donald R. Sherman AMD Research Fund.
Family Builds on a Legacy of Hope
Sisters honor their beloved father — scientist and civil rights leader Albert Wheeler, PhD — through an endowed fund to advance glaucoma research.
Read more about the Albert Wheeler Glaucoma Research Fund.
Foundation Celebrates Founder’s Dedication to Eye Research
During his lifetime Jerome Jacobson made regular but anonymous gifts to the Kellogg Eye Center, where he was a patient. Now the foundation created by his estate has established a professorship in his name to ensure the research he believed in continues. “He was deeply appreciative of the treatment he received,” says John R. Breen, longtime friend and co-trustee.
Read more the about the Jerome Jacobson Professorship and Vision Research Fund.
Alumni Support Future Generations
“We give back out of gratitude. It is important to support the quality of the program and the institution and to provide a future for the people who come after us,” says Kenneth Musson, MD
Read more about the Kellogg Alumni Legacy Fund.
Enabling an “A-Ha” Moment to Improve Lives
When an ophthalmologist imagines a new approach to solving a patient’s eye problem or a scientist begins to follow a discovery in an unintended direction, that’s where progress begins—but only if the resources are in place to test whether the hunch has potential. The Paul R. Lichter, MD, Vision Research Discovery Fund makes that possible.
Read more about the Paul R. Lichter, MD, Vision Research Discovery Fund.
Memorial Lectureship Advances Field
Alumnus Qais A. Farjo, MD, was known for breakthrough research and world-class clinical skills. An endowed lectureship in his name carries on his dedication to cornea research, care and education.
Read more about the Qais A. Farjo, MD, Memorial Lectureship
Couple Inspired by Progress
“My eyes are very precious to me, so anything Kellogg can do to help improve problems with eyes— for adults and for children—is something we want to support,” says Donna Estry.
Read more about supporting promising research projects
Annual Giving Propels Research and Care Forward
Each year, people who contribute to the Kellogg Eye Center Annual Fund and the Alumni and Faculty Annual Fund help us reach new levels of achievement. Together, they provide the resources necessary to launch the most promising new ideas, provide extra support to research projects in crucial stages of discovery, purchase equipment that benefits large spectrums of research, and more.