Mount Sinai’s Alon Harris, MS, PhD, FARVO, Receives Top Honor From The Glaucoma Foundation
Prestigious award recognizes significant contributions to the science
Alon Harris, MS, PhD, FARVO, Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has received the prestigious Robert Ritch Award for Innovation and Excellence in Glaucoma from The Glaucoma Foundation. He was presented with this honor on Friday, June 20, during the 29th Annual Glaucoma Foundation Scientific Think Tank in New York City.
This annual award, named in honor of the Foundation’s founder, recognizes the contributions of individuals who have played significant roles in promoting the science of glaucoma.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be presented with this prestigious award named after Dr. Ritch, especially considering the giants in the field who have received this recognition ahead of me,” says Dr. Harris. He is the Co-Director of the Barry Family Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, and Vice Chair of International Research and Academic Affairs, for the Department of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “My research helped define the interaction between the cardiovascular system and eye disease, specifically as it relates to onset and progression of glaucoma. This award acknowledges the now-wide acceptance of blood flow and metabolism’s involvement in glaucoma following decades of dedicated focused research.”
Dr. Harris is an internationally recognized clinical research scientist focusing his work on glaucoma risk factor assessment, monitoring techniques for structural and functional glaucoma progression, ocular perfusion assessment, mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence, branded and generic glaucoma medications, novel imaging methodologies, and population-based studies. He has made significant contributions to the field of ophthalmology in the areas of vascular deficits in the fields of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, and brain physiology.
Dr. Harris is the third Mount Sinai clinical scientist to receive this honor. Louis R. Pasquale, MD, FARVO, Deputy Chair for Ophthalmology Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Eye and Vision Research Institute at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE), won the award in 2023. Robert Ritch, MD, who served as Chief of Glaucoma Services at NYEE, was the first to receive the award established in his name.
"Mount Sinai's Department of Ophthalmology extends our hearty congratulations to Professor Alon Harris on receiving this most distinguished award from The Glaucoma Foundation. He has made impactful research contributions to the field of glaucoma and is most deserving of this noteworthy recognition," said James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, President of NYEE and Chair of Ophthalmology for the Mount Sinai Health System.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.