Dr. Robert Ritch holds the Shelley and Steven Einhorn Distinguished Chair; is Professor of Ophthalmology; Surgeon Director & Chief of Glaucoma Services Emeritus; Director of International Ophthalmic Education and Director of Glaucoma Research at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York City. He has devoted his career to broadening our understanding of the underlying etiologies and mechanisms of glaucoma and innovation in its medical, laser, and surgical treatment. When still a fellow in 1978, he performed the first laser iridotomy in New York and initiated the first course on laser treatment of glaucoma at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He developed argon laser peripheral iridoplasty for the treatment of angle closure more complicated than pupillary block, which was instrumental in dealing with angle closure in East Asia, and taught on the diagnosis and treatment of angle closure around the world. His other major interests throughout his career have been pigment dispersion syndrome, exfoliation syndrome, and normal-tension glaucoma, to which he has made seminal contributions. He has received numerous honors and awards, among them the Joanne G. Angle ARVO Service Award and SOI Honorary Award in Ophthalmology in 2017. He has trained over 150 clinical and research fellows, many of whom occupy academic positions worldwide. The international training program that he established at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai has hosted over 100 International Council of Ophthalmology fellows and more than 140 observers from over 40 countries. He has worked and lectured extensively at the international level over the last 35 years and has organized many symposia and conferences both in the United States and abroad. He has served as Convener for the Asia-Pacifica Academy of Ophthalmology and the World Ophthalmology Congress several times. At the June 2018 World Ophthalmology Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the International Council of Ophthalmology, which Dr. Ritch is a Member of the Board of Trustees, has organized a special symposium: “Robert Ritch Forum on Medicine of the Future”, the first of a series of symposia on cutting edge technology.

Editorial Board
Terms of Appointment: September 2018 - August 2020;  September 2020 - August 2022