CUNHA-VAZ José

President AIBILI, Chairman EVI.CT.SE, President Euretina, Coimbra, Portugal

1962- M.D., University of Coimbra, Portugal

1965- Ph.D., University of London, United Kingdom
1967- Doctor, Medical Science, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Certified of American and Portuguese Boards of Ophthalmology
F.A.A.O. – Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
F.C. Ophth. – Fellow of the College of Ophthalmologists – U.K.

Appointments (present)

  • Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Coimbra University Hospital, Portugal
  • President, Institute of Biomedical Research on Light and Image, University of Coimbra
  • President of the Board of Administration of AIBILI (Association for Biomedical Research and Innovation on Light and Image)
  • Board Member of European Vision Institute
  • Coordinator of the European Network of Clinical Trial Centres of Ophthalmology (EVI.CT.SE)

International Societies

  • European Society of Retinal Specialists (President), European Society for Cataract and Refractive
  • Surgeon (Past President), European University Professors of Ophthalmology (Past President), Jules
  • Gonin Club, Macula Society, International Intraocular Implant Club, European Ophthalmic Pathology
  • Society (Emeritus), International Society of Ocular Fluorometry (Past President) Spanish Society of Opthalmology (Emeritus).

Honors and Awards

  • University of Coimbra Prize for Medicine (1962);
  • National Research Prize of Instituto de Alta Cultura(1965);
  • International Research Scholar, Research to Prevent Blindness (1978); Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (1992);
  • Diaz Caneja Prize and Lecture, Valladolid, Spain (1993);
  • Commend of the Order of Public Instruction, Portugal (1993);
  • Member of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis – Chair XLIV (1995);
  • Bial Medicine Prize Honours (1996);
  • Pioneer of Refractive Surgery Award (1998);
  • Henkind Memorial Lecture (Macula Society – 1998);
  • Alcon Research Institute Award (1998);
  • Academia Portuguesa de Medicina – Chair XLVIII (2000);
  • European Academy of Ophthalmology – Chair VII (2002);
  • Helmholtz Gold Medal (European Society of Ophthalmology – 2007);
  • Order of Henry the Navigator, (Portugal – 2007)

Research

P. I. for research grants from Instituto de Alta Cultura, Fundação Gulbenkian, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica, Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica, Kroc Foundation, Research to Prevent Blindness, American Diabetes Association, National Institute of Health (National Eye Institute), European Union (Leader of a Concerted Action), Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.

Publications 
403 Scientific articles and 6 books (May, 2008)

Major Scientific Contributions

  • 1965 – Effect of histamine on ocular vessels Identification of Blood-Retinal Barrier (Arch. Ophthalmol., 73, 211, 1965)
  • 1966 – Morphological basis of Blood-Retinal Barrier First identification of tight junctions in Retinal vessels (later confirmed in brain vessels too) (Exp. Eye Research 5, 229, 1966)
  • 1967 – First demonstration of an active transport system in the retinal vessels and retinal pigment epithelium (J. Physiology, 191, 467, 1967)
  • 1967– Morphological characterization of mechanisms of breakdown of Blood-Retinal Barrier (J. Path. Bacteriol., 93, 645, 1967)
  • 1975 – Introduction of Vitreous Fluorofotometry (Br. J. Ophthalmol., 59, 649, 1975)
  • 1980 – Role of breakdown of Blood-Retinal Barrier in Retinal Diseases (The Blood-Retinal Barriers, Plenum Press, 1980)
  • 1983 – Introduction of a commercial Ocular fluorometer- the Fluorotron Master (Arch. Ophthalmol., 101, 1753, 1983)
  • 1984 – The role of breakdown of Blood-Retinal Barrier in cystoid macular edema (Surv. Ophthalmol. 28, 485, 1984)
  • 1985 – Demonstration of increased vascular permeability in the initial stages of diabetic retinal disease (Diabetes, 34, 53, 1985)
  • 1990 – Demonstration of reabsorptive flux for organic lesions in retinal vessels using a new microperfusion technique (IOVS, 31, 471, 1990)
  • 1999 – Mapping retinal fluorescein leakage with confocal scanning laser fluorofotometry of the (Arch. Ophthalmol., 117, 681, 1990) human vitreous (IEEE TBE, 52, 106,2005)
  • 2002 – Introduction of the concept of Multimodal Macula Mapping (Surv. Ophthalmol. 47, 580, 2002)
  • 2004 – Characterization of different phenotypes of nonproliferative retinopathy in diabetes type 2 (Arch.Ophthalmol., 122, 211, 2004)
  • 2007 – Identification of predictive factors for the development of diabetic macular edema (IOVS, 117,3, 2007)