The Cornea Society

History

The spirit of the Cornea Society is embodied in its mission statement: "Founded to promote the knowledge and exchange of scientific ideas relating to the cornea and the anterior segment of the eye." The Society was founded in 1975 in recognition of the contributions of its namesake, Ramon Castroviejo, MD, a consummate educator and a pioneer in corneal transplantation, who freely shared his ideas and techniques of corneal surgery from his office and hospital in a converted townhouse on New York City's East Side. The Society has fostered the exchange of information about the cornea and anterior segment of the eye through scientific meetings, communications, and a quality scientific journal. It thrives today as an international organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about the cornea and external eye and serves as the collective voice of corneal specialists in the United States to ophthalmic and governmental agencies.

Founding of the Society
The Society was conceived and organized during the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May 1975, largely through the efforts of Frank M. Polack, MD, and colleagues. It was at this time that Dr. Castroviejo had retired to Spain from his practice in New York City and had undergone serious abdominal surgery, which he was not expected to survive. Drs. Polack (New York), Hernando Cardona (New York), Guillermo Pico (Puerto Rico), A. Gerard DeVoe (New York), Jorge Buxton (New York), L. Uribe (New York), L. Fernandez-Vega (Spain), Francisco Losada (New York), and Paul Galvão (Brazil) agreed on the formation of a corneal society, which would be called "The Castroviejo Society." Drs. Don Willard (Pennsylvania) and Alberto Urrets-Zavalía (Córdoba) were also part of this organizing group but could not attend the organizing meeting.It is interesting to note that significant efforts were made by some individuals to name the organization the "American Corneal Society"; nonetheless, the society was to carry the Castroviejo namesake.

The organizing participants decided that the first meeting of the Society would be held in the fall of 1975 during the week of the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Dallas, Texas, and the initial officers were Dr. Fernando Losada (President), Dr. Hernando Cardona (Vice President), and Dr. Frank Polack (Secretary-Treasurer). The remaining members of the group served as the Executive Committee. Dr. Polack agreed to pursue member recruitment and preparation of the by-laws. It was agreed that the Castroviejo Society should be a scientific society of international character, devoted to the knowledge of diseases of the cornea and anterior segment of the eye. The membership was to be limited to 100 members, and presentation of a thesis would be a requisite for full membership. An invited lecture and an award was to be given annually.

Approximately 30 ophthalmologists attended the organizational meeting in Dallas in the fall of 1975, and another 30 signed up as members. The leadership then agreed that the first Scientific Award and Lecture would be scheduled for the October 1976 meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. A. G. DeVoe gave the first Castroviejo Lecture in Las Vegas on October 5, 1976. During this meeting, the first by-laws were accepted with few modifications. The membership agreed that the Castroviejo Society would meet each year in proximity to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

In 1978, several members requested that an amendment be added to the by-laws to eliminate the limited membership clause and the requirement for a thesis. This was done in order to permit easier access to the Society by younger corneal surgeons. This change established two categories of membership with the provision, however, that a thesis should still be a requirement for full membership status. Since that time, membership in the Society has steadily increased.

Growth and Development
The strength, vigor, and success of any organization derives from its membership. The membership of the Cornea Society has been active, dedicated, and committed to the advancement of the understanding of corneal and anterior segment disease of the eye. In the early years, a major thrust was to expand the scope and membership of the Society through a strong scientific program and a firm link to the long-established continuing education program of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). The annual scientific meetings continue to be held in conjunction with the annual scientific meeting of the AAO. However, the program expanded to include less formal mid-winter meetings of a smaller group of regular members as well as more expansive meetings--the World Corneal Congresses--scheduled at 10-year intervals.

From those early ties with the AAO, the collaboration in scientific and educational exchange has grown. The Society has presented several symposia on corneal and anterior segment disease in joint sponsorship with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and continues to collaborate with the Academy. In addition, the Castroviejo Cornea Society has responded whenever the Academy has required or requested information or opinions on matters pertaining to corneal disease or to the subspecialty practice of cornea and external disease. These efforts continue in the implementation of the Corneal Fellowship Match program and the Academy's informational services concerning post-graduate corneal fellowship training. Collaborative efforts with other professional societies concerned with the anterior segment of the eye has expanded. Jointly sponsored symposia have been held in conjunction with the Eye Bank Association of America, the Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group, the Canadian Cornea Society, and the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists.

Structure and Governance
In 1988, the Castroviejo Cornea Society was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the Colorado Nonprofit Corporation Act. The by-laws were re-stated at this time, defining governance of the Society by vesting management in a Board of Directors of not more than 20 regular members. At present there are 17 members of the Board of Directors. The offices of the Society are President, Vice-President / President Elect, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Immediate Past President, AAO Councilor, and Scientific Program Chair, all of whom comprise the Executive Committee. In 2002, the Board of Directors officially changed the name of the Society to The Cornea Society in keeping with its broadening character and mission.

The Cornea Society headquarters has recently relocated to:

4000 Legato Road, Suite 700
Fairfax, VA 22033
Phone: 703-591-0196
Fax: 703-273-2963
Email: info@corneasociety.org

A View to the Future
While the history of the Cornea Society has been illustrious, its future is equally as bright. With dedicated leadership that is committed to continuing and enhancing the vision and goals of the Society in fulfillment of its mission statement, the Society has recently affirmed its support of the annual scientific meeting and the journal, Cornea. In addition, the Society has contributed financial and resource support to two major clinical research efforts. In collaboration with the Eye Bank Association of America and the National Eye Institute, the Cornea Society has initiated a broad-based clinical trial evaluating the effect of donor age on keratoplasty — the Cornea Donor Study. This multi-center clinical trial will span the first five years of the new millennium and may answer several important questions concerning the use of older donor tissue in keratoplasty. The Society has also supported financially an international workshop to achieve consensus on understanding the Meibomian gland and its disorders. In 2005, the Cornea Society sponsored World Cornea Congress V, the most comprehensive and successful international meeting on the cornea in history. The future will demand creativity and resourcefulness from clinical and academic organizations in an ophthalmologic world that is rapidly changing in every respect. The Society stands ready to represent our subspecialty in an era of change and discovery.