ASCRS News: Annual Meeting Preview
April 2022
by Violet Gehr
ASCRS Foundation Coordinator
The ASCRS Foundation is excited to announce that Roger Ohanesian, MD, is the 2022 recipient of the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award. The award is set to be presented to him at the 2022 ASCRS Annual Meeting. The Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award is endowed by a generous gift from David and Victoria Chang to celebrate and honor outstanding humanitarian work with an emphasis on cataract blindness and disability. Dr. Ohanesian has earmarked the financial prize for the Armenian EyeCare Project.
“I think the Armenian EyeCare Project has given me an enormous sense of purpose and good feeling and has been the honor of a lifetime,” Dr. Ohanesian said. “To be recognized and lauded by my own colleagues within ASCRS for my 30 years of devotion to this cause is very gratifying. I would be remiss if I did not include the many ophthalmologists who have joined me multiple times to bring advanced diagnostic and surgical techniques to our grateful colleagues in Armenia. I am in awe of what we have accomplished and immeasurably proud of how far this program has come.”
Dr. Ohanesian was born in Boston, Massachusetts, as the son of two first-generation Armenian immigrants. His interest in medicine stemmed from growing up within a family of accomplished medical practitioners. Dr. Ohanesian was aware from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in medicine and was inspired by his grandmother to train in ophthalmology. She became blind after an unsuccessful cataract surgery, and Dr. Ohanesian promised he would dedicate his life to making sure no one should have to suffer that fate.
Dr. Ohanesian graduated from Boston University and went on to receive his medical education at the University of Vermont. He continued with a residency in ophthalmology and clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ohanesian founded Harvard Eye Associates in California where he currently works as president.
Thirty years ago, Dr. Ohanesian received an emergency communication from Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Health, requesting assistance from practicing medical experts worldwide to serve in the war-torn country. He heeded the call and boarded a flight to Armenia where he immediately began to meet with patients at the Republican Eye Hospital in Yerevan. Dr. Ohanesian worked tirelessly for the next 2 weeks, treating more than 300 patients and performing almost 40 surgeries. Nearly all those were war casualties and about half were children. This life-changing experience in Armenia became a focal point of his career.
After returning from his initial trip to the country, Dr. Ohanesian founded the Armenian EyeCare Project, which is dedicated to eliminating preventable blindness and expanding access to eyecare in Armenia. Since then, he has returned to the country more than 50 times and brought doctors who specialize in retina, glaucoma, cornea, and reconstructive surgery, as well as millions of dollars’ worth of medical equipment. The doctors have performed countless surgeries, provided training to Armenian doctors, and assisted in the creation of the country’s first corneal eye bank. Additionally, they helped set up a medical center in Nagorno-Karabakh and successfully created an unprecedented ophthalmic program in a country that desperately needed assistance.
“For 30 years, Roger has dedicated his life to helping people rise above blindness half a world away,” said John Hovanesian, MD. “He’s been passionate, he’s been persistent, and he’s been extremely efficient in gathering resources and recruiting like-minded volunteers through his contagious enthusiasm. He has been completely unselfish, seeking to recognize others for their contributions rather than drawing attention to his own. But make no mistake: He has been remarkably effective, in the early years at addressing existing disease and more recently at supporting preventive measures. In Armenia, his name is spoken with the greatest reverence. Very few of us will ever leave a mark on this world as important as that of Roger Ohanesian.”
Visit www.ascrsfoundation.org for more information.
