Officers:   

Founder
Charles Schepens, MD
One Autumn St
Kennedy Bldg 6th Fl
Boston, MA 02115

President
Lionel Chisholm, MD
West Virginia University
Stadium Dr, Box 9193
Morgantown, WV 26506

Immediate Past President
Nelson Sabates, MD
Eye Foundation of
Kansas City
2300 Holmes
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 404-1780

Vice-President/Secretary
Reginald Sanders, MD
Retina Group of WV
5454 Wisconsin Ave, #1540
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
(301) 656-8100

Treasurer
Max Johnson, MD
2345 25th Street, So
Fargo, ND 58103
(701)293-9829

Board of Directors:

Matthew Davis, MD
Andrew Eller, MD
Michael Gaynon, MD
John Gonder, MD
Hidenao Ideta, MD
King Lee, MD
Alice McPherson, MD
Luigi Pannarale, MD
Jerry Sebag, MD
William Tasman, MD
Harvey Topilow, MD

Advisory Board: 

ARGENTINA:
Julio Urrets Zavalia, MD

AUSTRALIA:
Ian Constable, MD 

BELGIUM:
Carl Claes, MD
Marie Jose Tassignon, PhD 

BRAZIL: 
Marcos Avila, MD

CANADA:
Robert Devenyi, MD

CHILE:
Michael Mehech, MD

CHINA:
Wen-Ji Wang, MD

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
Carlos Heredia Garcia, MD, Ph.D.

FRANCE:
Gabriel Coscas, MD
Gisele Soubrane, MD, PhD

GERMANY:
Ingrid Kreissig, MD
Sebastian Wolfe, MD, PhD

GREECE:
Spiros Pollallis, MD

INDIA:
P. Namperumalsamy, MD

INDONESIA:
Darwin Purba, MD

IRAN:
Mohammad Lashkari, MD

ISRAEL:
Morton Seelenfreund, MD

ITALY:
Luigi Pannarale, MD

JAPAN:
Akitoshi Yoshida, MD, PhD
Yozo Miyake, MD

PHILIPPINES:
Ildefonso Chan, MD
Jaime Lapus, MD

PUERTO RICO:
Jaime Bravo-Castro, MD
Maria Berrocal, MD

SPAIN:
Alvaro Vega, MD

THAILAND:
Nisit Leelawongs, MD

UNITED STATES:
Normal Blair, MD
Glynne Couvillion, MD
Susan Elner, MD
Tatsuo Hirose, MD
Kenneth Hovland, MD
Wm. McLaughlin, Jr., OD
Mehul Mehta, MD
Jerry Shields, MD

VENEZUELA:
Julain Morales Stopello, MD

Program Committee:

Jerry Sebag, MD – Chairman
Gisele Soubrane, MD
Jean  De Laey, MD
Gabriel Coscos, MD
Carl Claes, MD
Peter Kroll, MD
Thierry Verstraeten, MD
Akitoshi Yoshida, MD
Bart LaFaut,  MD
Nelson Sabates, MD
Glenn Wing, MD
 

Schepens International Society

The Schepens International Society was organized in 1988 by a group of 161 retina specialists who had completed a retina fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Charles L. Schepens at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston. 

Motto

“Sharing Knowledge”

Membership

Membership is open to all ophthalmologists  who have completed a retina fellowship.
(Click here for membership application)

The application must be completed and submitted to the Credentials Committee with a copy of the curriculum vitae and a letter of recommendation from a SIS member, the director of the fellowship program or a colleague.

Meeting History

Meetings have been held in the following locations:

Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Madrid, Spain
Hong Kong
Mexico City, Mexico
Boston, Massachusetts
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Las Vegas, Nevada
Brugge, Belgium
Vancouver, Canada

Awards

The Society recognizes outstanding members and other ophthalmologists through its award programs.
    
The Charles L. Schepens Lectureship in Retina Research has been established to honor Charles L. Schepens, whose contribution to our knowledge of diseases of the retina is extraordinary. Through his abiding interest in the value of basic research, understanding of the underlying processes in retinal diseases has led to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic methods that have benefited countless patients. By recognizing those who have demonstrated devotion to these principles through sustained research scholarship, the executive and program committeees of the Schepens International Society wish to emphasize the importance of retina research in Dr. Schepens name.

The Paul Kayser Award provides an honorarium at each of the biennial meetings of $5,000 for the recipient and $45,000 for the research project or institution of the recipient. In the event of two recipients, the honorarium and research grant will be divided equally. This award is presented at each meeting by the Retina Research Foundation, Houston, Texas.

Leslie Nesmith Award provides an honorarium, plus all travel, registration and hotel expenses as well as a commemorative gift.

Schepens Research Awards are presented to three outstanding young residents or fellows.  They will receive travel, registration and hotel expenses plus a commemorative plaque.
 

"Profile of Charles L. Schepens, M.D."
Founding President of SIS

Dr. Charles Schepens received his medical degree in 1935 from the State University of Ghent. He received the award of "Concours Universitaire" of Belgium in Therapeutic Science in 1953 - the first of his many honors. In 1937 he served as assistant to Dr. L. Hambresin in Brussels. During WWII he was Captain of the Medical Corps in Belgium Air Force and served in the underground in Paris. Fleeing to London, he began working at Moorfields where he developed the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope that has revolutionized ophthalmology and more specifically surgery of the retina.

In 1946 he became a fellow in ophthalmic research at Harvard Medical School where he served as an instructor and professor until 1983, when he became Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Emeritus.

In 1950 he founded The Eye Research Institute of the Retina Foundation in Boston. The name was later changed to The Schepens Eye Research Institute. This is the largest independent ophthalmology research facility in the world, employing approximately 75 scientists.

In addition to the Schepens ophthalmoscope, he has designed and developed many ophthalmic instruments including microscissors used for vitreous surgery, the small pupil ophthalmoscope, the scanning laser ophthalmoscope, the scanning laser coagulator and a universal intraocular laser. He has pioneered many surgical procedures including scleral buckle techniques and the "open-sky" vitrectomy. A prolific writer, he has over 360 publications to his credit.

His honors include the New England Ophthalmological Prize for Outstanding Work in the Field of Ophthalmology, The Eyes of Texas Sight Foundation Award (Baylor College of Medicine), the Research to Prevent Blindness Award for Outstanding Ophthalmic Achievement, the First Award of Merit in Retina Research (Retina Research Foundation of Houston), The Jackson Memorial Lecture (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Medal from the Belgain Government "Commandeur del' Order de la Couronne", Albrecht von Graefe Award (Society for Contemporary Ophthalmology), Honorary medal "the Medaille de la Ville de Paris", Hermann Wacker Prize (Club Jules Gonin) and numerous others.

"Dr. Schepens passed away on March 28, 2006 in the 95th year of his life. He had just been awarded France's highest award, the Legion of Honor.

Dr. Schepens will be remembered for his brilliant and multifaceted career as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Ophthalmologists of the 20th Century. We owe so much to our esteemed colleague, Charles L. Schepens. A teacher, mentor, scientist and friend, he touched the lives of people around the globe.

The world is a better place thanks to Dr. Schepens."

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