Prominent Dean McGee Eye Institute Researcher Honored as Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professor
OKLAHOMA CITY—The Dean McGee Eye Institute announced that James F. McGinnis, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Medicine, has been awarded a Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professorship. Presidential Professorships honor faculty members who succeed in all of their professional activities and relate those activities to the students they teach and mentor.
“Dr. McGinnis and his remarkable scientific achievements have truly advanced vision research on a global scale. This award further validates his work in the research laboratory and academic arena,” said Dr. Gregory Skuta, President and CEO of the Dean McGee Eye Institute and Edward L. Gaylord Professor and Chair of the OU College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology.“We congratulate Dr. McGinnis as a new Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professor and are honored to count Jim as a DMEI/OU colleague and friend.”
In addition to his work with the Dean McGee Eye Institute and OU Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. McGinnis serves as Associate Director of Education for the Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience. He is well known for his pioneering work in the novel use of cerium oxide nanoparticles as a potential treatment for a variety of retinal disorders. His work is supported by a number of funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute, Research to Prevent Blindness, the National Science Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
Dr. McGinnis joined the Institute and the University of Oklahoma faculty in 1997 from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Presidential Professors must inspire their students and mentor their undergraduate and/or graduate students in the process of research and creative activity within their discipline. They exemplify to their students (both past and present) and to their colleagues (both at OU and within their disciplines nationwide) the ideals of a scholar through their endeavors in teaching, research/creative activity and service. There are currently 75 professorships at the University of Oklahoma.
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.
