Alon Harris, MS, PhD, FARVO, has been named the 2025 recipient of The Glaucoma Foundation’s (TGF) Robert Ritch Award for Innovation and Excellence in Glaucoma. Created in 2008, the award recognizes the contributions of exceptional individuals who have played a significant and unique role in promoting the medicine and science of glaucoma.
The award is named in honor of Dr. Robert Ritch, the founder of TGF. It will be presented on June 20 during the 29th Annual Glaucoma Foundation Scientific Think Tank in New York City.
Dr. Harris serves as Co-Director of the Barry Family Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence & Human Health and Vice Chair of International Research and Academic Affairs at Mount Sinai Hospital. In addition, he is the Director of the Ophthalmic Vascular Diagnostic and Research Program, and holds dual professorships in Ophthalmology and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
An internationally recognized leader in ophthalmic clinical research, Dr. Harris’s pioneering work spans from the development of novel diagnostic and monitoring techniques for glaucoma to artificial intelligence and mathematical modeling applications that are enhancing our understanding of disease progression. Dr. Harris is the Principal Investigator of multiple NIH and foundation-sponsored research focused on identifying the individualized risk factors that are responsible for vision loss in glaucoma.
The award will be presented to Dr. Harris by Louis R. Pasquale, MD, FARVO, professor, researcher and clinician with the Mount Sinai Healthcare System, TGF’s Scientific Advisory Board Chairman, and the 2023 award recipient.
"Alon is an exceptionally deserving recipient of the prestigious Robert Ritch Award,” said Dr. Pasquale. “Alon stands out in the glaucoma research community for his unwavering dedication to unraveling the intricate interplay between systemic physiology, ocular hemodynamics, glaucoma and oculomics. His hands-on approach and expertise are poised to revolutionize our comprehension of this complex condition."
The Dr. Robert Ritch Award was first given to Dr. Robert Ritch, founder of TGF, and in subsequent years to Drs. Paul Kaufman, Ted Krupin, Jost Jonas, George Spaeth, Ivan Goldberg, Bruce Shields, Ursula Schlötzer-Schrehardt, Tin Aung, Paul Palmberg, Terete Borrás, Emmett T. Cunningham, Ahti H. A. Tarkkanen, Robert N. Weinreb and Louis R. Pasquale.
About The Glaucoma Foundation
The Glaucoma Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people with glaucoma. Since 1984, The Foundation has worked to encourage and support basic and applied research in glaucoma, to gain and disseminate new information about its causes and treatment, and to further identify and develop novel approaches to preserve visual function and reverse blindness. Through education and outreach, we strive to be a valuable resource to help patients, their families, and at-risk individuals to manage their disease.
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