Contributed by Judy E. Kim, MD, FARVO, FASRS, Past ASRS President
Alice McPherson was a pioneer of landmark treatments for retinal diseases, including scleral buckling, cryotherapy and xenon arc, and laser photocoagulation. While initially controversial, her early advocacy for photocoagulation for treating diabetic retinopathy was later supported by the National Eye Institute Diabetic Retinopathy Study.
She married Tony Mierzwa after her retina fellowship; she moved to Texas to accept a position at Baylor College of Medicine. There, she established the retina service and had a long career as a professor of ophthalmology, launched a fellowship program, and taught over 100 residents and fellows. Despite a large and busy retina practice, she was generous with her time, knowledge, and skill.
Dr. McPherson trained under the legendary Charles Schepens, MD—known as the father of modern retinal surgery—and credited him for giving her an unprecedented career opportunity that led to her becoming the world’s first woman full-time retina specialist in 1960.
“Dr. Schepens accepted me into his retina surgery program at a time when no other women had been offered this type of fellowship training,” Dr. McPherson recalled. “He gave me his full support and allowed me to learn from his expertise. Without his training, I would have spent the rest of my life doing refractions. But instead, I have been fortunate enough to have had an extensive vitreoretinal surgery practice and to have founded the successful Retina Research Foundation.” In 1984, nearly a quarter-century after she began her retina practice, Dr. McPherson and her mentee, Judith Feigon, MD, became the first women members of what was then the Vitreous Society.
Alice McPherson was an avid philanthropist who founded not one, but two leading vision research organizations. She launched the Retina Research Foundation (RRF), one of the nation’s leading eye research support organizations, in Houston in 1969; and founded the McPherson Eye Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin (UW) in 2005. RRF has awarded over 1000 grants and $38 million in research funding and educational opportunities to vision researchers.
The ASRS is grateful to Dr. McPherson and the Retina Research Foundation for funding the annual Gertrude D. Pyron Award. Alice McPherson also established several more awards and scholarships, none of which are named for her. While she received numerous awards and recognitions, Dr. McPherson cited the Gonin Medal—the oldest and most prestigious medal in ophthalmology, awarded every 4 years—and the inaugural Retina Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award as highlights of her career; she valued and was humbled by her peers’ recognition. Despite her larger-than-life status, she never forgot her roots; Alice McPherson’s Gonin Medal is on display in the Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery at the UW-Madison, her alma mater.
Dr. McPherson was devoted to advancing research because she saw the impact of devastating eye diseases in patients—and was inspired by her mentor, Dr. Schepens. “He strongly advocated that only from understanding the clinical and basic science research can the information and the tools necessary to improve patient care be obtained,” she said.
Dr. McPherson, thank you! Your legacy will live on.
