Eighth Bohigian Lecture   September 12, 2018

Wendy Gasch, M.S., M.D.

Dying to be Beautiful:  A History of Toxic Effects of Eye Cosmetics

When not caring for eyes in the uveitis clinic at Washington Hospital Center (where she teaches Washington Hospital Center-Georgetown University residents) or in a clinic providing health care to indigent DC residents or abroad on a mission eye trip (most recently to Honduras, previously in West Africa, Azerbaijan, and Mexico), Dr. Gasch often can be found on a tennis court (she was seeded third in the New England intercollegiate matches in her heyday) or on a hiking trail. She recently returned from hiking over 120 miles of a long-distance path in the Balkans, the Via Dinarica, and summiting the highest peaks in Bosnia and Montenegro. She also enjoys macrophotography and dabbling in glass fusing.  She is an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society, currently serving on the Society’s Executive Committee. 

Seventh  Bohigian Lecture    September 13, 2017

Morton E. Smith, M.D.

Eye Diseases of the Famous, the Not so Famous, and the Infamous

Dr. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Associate Dean Emeritus, at Washington University School of Medicine.

Sixth  Bohigian Lecture    September 28, 2016

Mark J. Mannis, M.D.

Shakespeare's Eye: A Study of the Eye in Disease and Metaphor in the Works of Shakespeare

Mark J. Mannis, M.D.,  is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, University of California Davis Eye Center.  He also serves as Medical Director of Sierra Donor Services in Sacramento, California. He completed his ophthalmology residency training at Washington University in St. Louis and a fellowship in Cornea and External Disease at the University of Iowa. He conducts a busy referral practice in diseases of the cornea and external eye based at the University of California - Davis. Dr Mannis is an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society, and presented the Society's Snyder Lecture in 2016.

Fifth  Bohigian Lecture    September 30, 2015

Lilla Vekerdy

The Eyes Have It:  The First Systematic Book on Ocular Diseases, 1583  

Ms. Vekerdy is Head of Special Collections at the Smithsonian Institute Libraries, Washington, D.C., and a member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society.

Fourth  Bohigian Lecture     October 1, 2014

Michael Marmor, M.D. 

Vision and  History: Looking Through an Artist's Eyes

Dr. Marmor is an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society, and presented the Society's Snyder Lecture in 2004.

Third  Bohigian Lecture   October 9, 2013

James G. Ravin, M.D.

Eye Diseases of Famous Artists

James G. Ravin, M.D., well known for his life-long interest in art, gave the Third Bohigian Lecture at Washington University in Saint Louis on October 9, 2013. His subject was "Eye Diseases of  Famous Artists."  Dr. Ravin is an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society, and presented the Society's Snyder Lecture in 1997.

Second  Bohigian Lecture   October 10, 2012

Ronald S. Fishman, M.D.  

Eye Problems of American Presidents

Dr. Fishman is now retired after many years of ophthalmology practice in Washington, D.C., and teaching neuro-ophthalmology at the Washington Hospital Center.  He has had a long-time interest in the history of medicine, has been a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the History of Medicine of Johns Hopkins University, and is a founding member and past president of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society.  He has published over 20 articles on the history of ophthalmology, is currently Consultant to the Museum of Vision of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society.  Dr. Fishman presented the Society's Snyder Lecture in 1996.

Inaugural Bohigian Lecture  October 5, 2011  

Daniel Albert, M.D., M.S.  

The Strange Life of the Brilliant Oculist Who Blinded Handel and Bach

After graduating cum laude with honors in biology from Franklin and Marshall College in 1958, Dr. Albert earned an M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and trained in ophthalmology and pathology. He has served at Yale University School of  Medicine; Harvard University, where he occupied the Cogan Chair; and the University of Wisconsin, where he was Chair of Ophthalmology and Founding Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute. He is presently Professor of Ophthalmology at Oregon Health Science University.  He is an active member of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society.

The Bohigian Annual Lectureship in the History of Ophthalmology and the Visual Sciences was established through the generosity of George and Chris Bohigian in 2011. 

Updated August 5, 2018