Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder - Chair of the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) was awarded the prestigious ICO Jules François Golden Medal for 2024 by the International Council of Ophthalmology. He received the award amongst his peers from around the world at the World Ophthalmology Congress 2024 (WOC2024) Vancouver, Canada.
The ICO Jules François Golden Medal for 2024 is given once every four years for 'ophthalmic work of the highest scientific quality.' Dr Rao is the first Indian and is one of only eleven people in the world to be honoured with this medal.
The Gold Medal is named after Dr Jules François, a preeminent Belgian ophthalmologist and productive researcher who had published over 1,500 papers in the field. Dr Francois, considered one of the most influential figures in global ophthalmology, was the Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Ghent Medical School for most of his professional life and passed away in 1984. In 1986, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) instituted a Gold Medal in his name, to be given every four years to ophthalmologists with excellent scientific contributions. Dr. Rao is the first ophthalmologist from India to be honoured with this gold medal.
Dr Rao received the medal at the opening ceremony of the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) 2024, at Vancouver, Canada. The WOC is an annual meeting of the global ophthalmology community and is organised by the International Council of Ophthalmology. ICO represents and serves its members which include national, regional and subspecialty ophthalmology societies throughout the world and is the only ophthalmology organization in official relations with the World Health Organization. In its annual meeting, ICO honours leaders in international ophthalmology who are nominated by their peers and selected by the ICO with a set of medals. In 2013, Dr Rao was also honoured with G. O. H. Neumann award for his leadership in global eye care.
"I will cherish the honour from the International Council of Ophthalmology," said Dr Rao.
About Dr Gullapalli N Rao: Dr. Rao is the past President of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, the body 80 of the most eminent academic ophthalmologists in the world. He was the Chairman, International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, where he contributed significantly to achieving the global VISION 2020: The Right to Sight. He has over 300 peer reviewed research publications; held editorial board positions in several journals; has been a visiting Professor in many universities in the world; and invited speaker at international meetings including many eponymous lectures. He was also the former Chair and CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). In this position, he played a key role in the global programme for the elimination of avoidable blindness, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, a joint programme with the World Health Organization (WHO).
About LVPEI: Established in 1987, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. It has offered over 36.89 million services (3 crores 68 lakh services), with more than 50% entirely free of cost, irrespective of the complexity of care needed. LVPEI also works in active collaboration with many global and national institutes. LVPEI clinicians and scientists work at the cutting edge of eye research. Their work ranges from investigating the genetic and molecular basis of eye diseases to arriving at creative modes of managing vision-threatening conditions. They are also involved in several clinical trials that evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel drugs and devices. To date, over 5000 publications have been published by the Institute. For the past two consecutive years, several researchers from LVPEI have been ranked among the top 2% of global eye researchers by the Sanford University study. The research work at LVPEI is funded through competitive grants and philanthropic donations.
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