The Adele Niessen Chair of Ophthalmology

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The Chair was created by the bequest of Adele Niessen (1889–1981) and is awarded to a faculty member in the Scheie Eye Institute. Adele Niessen was the wife of Arthur August Niessen (1880–1955), who with his brother Leo (1877–1969) founded a very successful cut flowers business. The Niessen brothers also ran the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Company from 1930 to 1948.

 

Joshua L. DunaiefCurrent Chairholder
Joshua L. Dunaief, MD, PhD

Joshua L. Dunaief, MD, PhD received his BA magna cum laude from Harvard and his medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Johns Hopkins and medical retina fellowship at the Scheie Eye Institute before becoming a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine in 2015.

Dr. Dunaief treats patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Since 2000, his laboratory has focused on developing a new understanding of the little-known pathogenesis of AMD. His team has published many peer-reviewed articles related to AMD and continues to study mechanisms of retinal iron transport and the role of iron toxicity in AMD. Dr. Dunaief was given the Cogan Award by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in 2006 and serves as a moderator and speaker at international meetings on AMD.

Previous Chairholders

  • Nicholas J. Volpe, MD 2005–2010