Glaucoma Professorship

An endowed professorship is a way to celebrate the contributions of a career while giving monetary support to research projects important to the incumbent. In some cases, that honor is indicated by clinical care and in others by research.

In the case of a new professorship to support a glaucoma researcher at the UW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, an endowed professorship will first honor a long-time clinician and researcher, and current chair of the Department, Paul L. Kaufman, MD.

Liane Seyk, who has been Dr. Kaufman's patient for more than a decade, has agreed to lead the fundraising for this professorship. A named professorship requires a $1 million endowment because only the proceeds from investments are used to support the research endeavors of the recipient.

Fifty-seven physicians and researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health hold endowed professorships. At the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Dr. Kaufman is the Peter A. Duehr Professor. That professorship will move to the person who is the next department chair, so faculty, staff and patients sought a way to honor Dr. Kaufman for his leadership while continuing to support his research.

An endowed professorship stays with the department, so when Dr. Kaufman retires, the financial support and honor of the professorship will pass to another clinician researcher within the department.

For Seyk, that's just fine. "Although I credit Paul for giving me at least a decade more sight than anyone else offered, it's the UW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences that I support," she says.

Her husband, George, agrees. "It's the level of care and responsibility that has been taken by the Department," he says. "It's been exceptional. I feel it's helped her keep her vision longer than we were told initially."

Taking on a fundraising campaign is a labor of love for Liane and for George, who taught in the UW School of Business. Although they live in Northbrook, Illinois, both are patients in the Department. "Distance doesn't really matter," George says. "It's a matter of where we feel comfortable with the care we're getting."

By supporting a glaucoma researcher in the UW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Liane and George also hope to help educate not only future physicians, but patients as well.

Liane has low-tension glaucoma, so the damage to her optic nerve was not caught until it was quite far advanced. Although it is less common than other types of glaucoma, Liane believes patients can learn to advocate for tests that would detect the disease sooner, when treatment can help limit damage.

"Sometimes people don't understand what vision is about until they start to lose it," Liane says. "Close your eyes and imagine losing your vision. Without research, what do we have? That's why we support this project."

The endowed professorship for glaucoma is just the first of a planned 15 endowed professorships for the department. "We started with glaucoma in part because it's a capstone of our department, both clinically and in basic science," says Robert W. Nickells, PhD, vice-chair for research. "This is also a way to honor Paul, who is an internationally renowned researcher and leader. Just as important, he has led our department through challenging times and provided excellent stewardship."

Liane hopes people will step up to support the drive to create the professorship. "This is a way to help people, to do something that will last," she says. "This will make a difference for other people with glaucoma for decades to come."