Dean McGee Eye Institute Neuro-ophthalmologist Honored in China
OKLAHOMA CITY – Dean McGee Eye Institute (DMEI) neuro-ophthalmologist Dr. Bradley K. Farris has been honored with the TianFu Friendship Award in Mianyang, Sichuan, China by the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Foreign Experts for his work in China training ophthalmologists and treating patients with eye disorders. He presently serves as Professor of Ophthalmology and Adjunct Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma (OU).
Dr. Farris began leading a team of ophthalmology residents and teachers to Chengdu, Sichuan, China in 2002 to treat patients for conditions such as cataracts. Dr. Farris quickly recognized that he and his team could have a greater impact on the tremendous need for eye care by establishing an infrastructure to train new ophthalmologists in the region, thereby magnifying the benefits of care the Sichuan people could receive for generations to come.
“Dr. Farris’ compassion for and commitment to the people of the Sichuan Province through advancing blindness prevention and ophthalmic education have created a legacy of friendship, service and healing among both Chinese and American ophthalmologists,” noted Gregory L. Skuta, MD, DMEI President and CEO and Edward L. Gaylord Professor and Chair of the OU Department of Ophthalmology. “He has developed a well-deserved, multi-continental reputation for his ability to deftly cross cultural barriers to provide exceptional patient care and for inspiring ophthalmologists in training. Because of Dr. Farris’ work there, the leadership of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital is progressing towards establishing a specialty hospital entirely dedicated to ophthalmic care, based on the model of the Dean McGee Eye Institute.”
The TianFu Friendship Award recognizes foreign experts who show kindness to China and make significant contributions to the economic and social standing of the Sichuan Province. Candidates for the award must have been actively involved in introducing new technologies and teaching new skills; contributing to foreign economic collaborations and investment; and inviting foreign professionals promoting international collaboration, exchange and friendship.
Dr. Farris, a native Oklahoman, obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He completed a neurology residency in Oklahoma City, as well as an ophthalmology residency at the Dean McGee Eye Institute. After completing a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, he returned to join the faculty at the University of Oklahoma and Dean McGee Eye Institute in 1986.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Farris has published 27 peer-reviewed articles, edited a book about neuro-ophthalmology, contributed chapters to several textbooks and authored numerous other educational materials. In addition, he has delivered over 200 invited lectures locally, nationally and internationally. For the past decade, Dr. Farris has led a team annually from the Dean McGee Eye Institute to enhance the residency-training program in Chengdu, China and is currently developing a similar program in Swaziland in southeastern Africa. A member of many professional societies, he is the past president of the Christian Ophthalmology Society and serves on the editorial review board of four national journals. Widely recognized for his clinical and surgical expertise and teaching skills, Dr. Farris received the University of Oklahoma Regents Award for Superior Teaching in 2011.
About the Dean McGee Eye Institute
The Dean McGee Eye Institute is dedicated to serving all Oklahomans and the global community through excellence and leadership in patient care, education and vision research. It is one of the largest and most respected eye institutes in the United States and houses the Department of Ophthalmology for the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Its research and training programs are among the most highly regarded in the country. Nineteen of the Institute’s ophthalmologists are listed in the Best Doctors in America; its Director of Vision Research is a Past President of the International Society for Eye Research, Past Vice President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and a recipient of ARVO’s prestigious Proctor Medal; two members of the faculty are recent or current directors of the American Board of Ophthalmology; three serve on the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology; one is Vice Chair of the Residency Review Committee in Ophthalmology for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; and one is President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a Past President of the American Glaucoma Society. For more information, visit www.dmei.org.
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