Dr. Alan Robin

Dr. Alan L. Robin has been a pioneer and innovator in both medicine and public health as well as a recognized humanitarian. He grew up in Glencoe, and after New Trier (1966), he graduated from Yale College (1970) and Tufts University School of Medicine (1974) and had a fellowship in glaucoma at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1979). He has faculty appointments at both the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Robin has been recognized as a leading global researcher in glaucoma, developing novel laser therapies and medical therapies, researching adherence, and serving as part of a team that discovered a new gene for glaucoma. He was the first to prove that extracapsular cataract surgery was possible in the developing world. Earlier cataract surgery prevents blindness and has saved the vision of tens of millions of persons in developing countries, eliminating the need for thick “Coke bottle” glasses. Dr. Robin’s development of the ND:YAG laser for treatment of angle closure has revolutionized the treatment of this blinding disease. Additionally, Dr. Robin is working on research on TBK1 duplication, a genetic cause of visual disability in tens of thousands of people with glaucoma. He has served as an advisor to many international companies and organizations, including ORBIS, International Eye Foundation, and Aravind Eye Foundation. He is a charter member of the American Glaucoma Society and has also established a nonprofit, the Right to Vision Charitable Trust, dedicated to the elimination of needless blindness around the world. He has received Outstanding Humanitarian awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society. The Aravind Eye Care system (the largest eye care system in the world) has awarded him the second Venkatasway Oration Award, and the State of Maryland gave him the Maryland Health Care Hero Award. He was also the first international scholar in residence at the Kellogg Eye Institute, University of Michigan. Dr. Robin founded the glaucoma department at the Aravind Eye Care System (Madurai, India), which now sees over 4.5 million patients annually as well as performing close to 500,000 eye surgeries per year, with over one half either treated free or deeply subsidized. He has left clinical practice and is the first Executive Vice President of the American Glaucoma Society and a consultant to Google Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Robin lives in Baltimore with his wife, Wendy. They are proud of their two children and four grandchildren.