Officers:   

President
Lionel Chisholm, MD

Past President
Nelson Sabates, MD

Founding President
Charles Schepens, MD

Executive Director
Alice McPherson, MD

Secretary
Felix Sabates, MD

Treasurer
Rand Spencer, MD


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

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

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

GERMANY:
Ingrid Kreissig, MD

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:
David Lozano Elizondo, MD

MEXICO:
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

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”

Contact Us

Administrative Office
10611 Piping Rock Lane
Houston, TX 77042
P: (713) 798-3276
F: (713) 798-7848
E: alicem@bcm.edu

Schepens 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
Washington, DC

"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 130 scientists. In June, 2011 the Schepens Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary united and became the world's largest basic and clinical ophthalmology research centers. SERI became a subsidiary of Mass Eye and Ear Foundation but will maintain its name and continue as a non-profit research center.

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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