Alfredo A. Sadun, MD, PhD

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Title:

  • Professor of Opthalmology
  • Flora L. Thornton in Vision Research

Department:

Locations:

Areas of Treatment:

Specialties:

  • Ophthalmology

Sub-specialties:

  • Neuro-Ophthalmology

Background:

Dr. Sadun began his studies of brain science at M.I.T. and then earned a Ph.D. and an M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His residency and chief residency were at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical. He completed a clinical fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Harvard Medical and then joined the full time faculty at Harvard. In 1984, Dr. Sadun was recruited to join the full-time faculty of the Doheny Eye Institute. His research has centered on the clinical, psychophysical and laboratory studies of diseases of the optic nerve and its connections with the brain. He was the first to identify several optic neuropathies due to systemic diseases such as AIDS and Alzheimer's. In 1993 he was selected and sponsored by the United Nations to lead an investigative team to determine the cause of an epidemic of optic neuropathy in Cuba. Currently, his research is centered on mitochondrial causes of optic neuropathy such as LHON and has developed a unifying theory of these diseases. Dr. Sadun was appointed the inaugural recipient of the Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair in Vision Research in 2000. Dr. Sadun has been recognized as an international authority in neuro-ophthalmology and especially diseases of the optic nerve. He has received the RPB James Adams Scholar Award in 1990 and the RPB Senior Investigator Award in 1997. In 1999 he received the Lighthouse International Pisart Award, this organization’s highest research prize given annually to one vision scientist or clinician deemed to have made the greatest international contribution against blindness. In 2003 Dr. Sadun received the highest award bestowed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for education, the Straatsma prize. For his contributions to ophthalmology and the academy, he also received, in 2005, the Senior Honor Award. Dr. Sadun is the author or co-editor of four books, over 210 peer reviewed articles, and 60 book chapters.


Featured Articles:

Education:

  • Ph.D., Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1976
  • M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1978
  • B.S., Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 1972

Internships:

  • Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA 1978 - 1979

Residencies:

  • Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 1979 - 1982

Fellowships:

  • Neuro-Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School 1982 - 1983

Board Certification:

  • American Board of Ophthalmology

Professional Society Memberships:

  • North American Neuro-Ophthalmological Society (NANOS)
  • AUPO Program Director's Advisory Council
  • Association for Research in Vision Organization (ARVO)

Awards:

  • HEED Foundation Award in 1982
  • RPB James Adams Scholar Award in 1990
  • RPB Senior Investigator Award in 1997
  • The Lighthouse International Pisart Award in 1999
  • The American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award in 1993
  • The American Academy of Ophthalmology Straatsma prize in 2003
  • The American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Honor Award in 2005
  • Induction into the American Ophthalmological Society (Honor Soc.) in 1998

Languages:

  • English
  • Italian