User:Dbelkin/sandbox

Michael Belkin (Born November 14, 1941) is an Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology at Tel Aviv University and a senior consultant to the Singapore Eye research Institute. Professor Belkin is a prominent eye scientist who specializes in translational ophthalmic research. Among many other contributions to ophthalmic science, he invented the Ex-Press Mini Glaucoma Shunt, which pioneered modern Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) and has been widely commercialized by Alcon.

Education

Professor Belkin graduated from Cambridge University, England in 1965 with a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences, and from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1970 with a Doctorate in Medicine. He completed his residency in ophthalmology in 1975 at the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem.

Military Career

In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, he was deputy commander of the medical battalion in General Sharon’s armored division and was one of the first physicians to cross the Suez Canal. Between 1977 and 1980, at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he served as head of Research and Development for the Israel Defense Forces’ Medical Corps, and was a visiting scientist at the US Army’s Letterman Institute of Research in San Francisco and later a visiting professor at the US Army Walter Reed institutes of research

Offices Held

1.     Established and was first director of the Tel Aviv University Goldschleger Eye Research Institute

2.     Head of the Ophthalmic Technologies Laboratory at the Tel Aviv University Eye Research Institute

3.     Head of the Pediatric Ophthalmology Clinic at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel

4.     Founding Member and President of the Israel Society of Eye and Vision Research

5.     Founding and Board Member of the International Society of Ocular Trauma

6.     Chairperson, Department of Ophthalmology at the Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine

7.     Chairperson, Permanent Advisory Committee in Ophthalmology, Ministry of Health

1.     Chairperson, Ophthalmology Committee, National Councils for Health

2.     Incumbent, Tel Aviv University Sidney A. Fox Chair of Ophthalmology

3.     Member of Boards of Directors and Scientific Advisory Boards of various biomedical companies

4.     Member board of editors of various ophthalmic journals

Research Career

Over the years, Professor Belkin engaged in researching eye diseases and injuries, as well as their etiologies, mechanisms, prevention and treatment. These studies resulted in over 300 scientific publications. The subjects he studied included, among others: glaucoma, neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, mechanical and radiational eye injuries, intraocular foreign bodies, myopia, laser radiation (clinical utilization and accidental injuries), occupational ophthalmology, cell therapy, amblyopia, ophthalmic surgical technics, optics and imaging.

He holds over 20 patents and established several startup companies, mostly based on his inventions

Personal Life                           

Professor Belkin married Ruth Loeb in 1967. He has three children and five grandchildren.