The Cogan Award recognizes a researcher 40 years of age or younger at the time of nomination who has made important contributions to research in ophthalmology or visual science directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system, and who also shows substantial promise for future research. Dunaief was selected to receive the award for his innovative investigations of iron metabolism and oxidative damage in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including contributions from both human tissues and mice models of the disease.
Dunaief is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Scheie Eye Institute's F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology in Philadelphia, Pa. He received his doctorate and his medical degree from Columbia University in New York, N.Y., and served his residency in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. He is a past recipient of the Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award and the Steinbach AMD Research Foundation Award. He serves as a reviewer for a number of publications including Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Journal of Neuroscience.
Established in 1928, ARVO is a membership organization of more than 11,300 eye and vision researchers from over 70 countries. The Association encourages and assists its members and others in research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology. ARVO's headquarters are located in Rockville, Md. For more information about ARVO, logon to the Association's Web site, www.arvo.org