William H. and Blondina Evans Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
School of Medicine
Henry J. Kaplan, M.D., is a professor and chair of the School of Medicine's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director of the Kentucky Lion's Eye Center. He has a joint appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
He leads a group of researchers who are studying several National Institutes of Health-funded projects, including uveitis (inflammation of the eye's pigmented section), angiogenesis in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Their goal is to better understand the origins of autoimmune eye disease so that novel, more effective therapies can be discovered that will result in the cure of uveitis. They also are seeking more effective treatments for age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy by finding ways to deal with the abnormal blood vessels that develop in these diseases.
Kaplan has published nearly 200 articles in scholarly journals on his work. He also is a frequent speaker at symposia worldwide. Among his accolades are the Alcon Research Institute's Scientific Award and the editorship of the Journal of Ocular Immunology and Inflammation. He is a member of several professional organizations including the Uveitis Society, of which he is a past president, the Retina Society and the Macula Society. He also is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Kaplan received his bachelor's at Columbia University and his medical degree from Cornell.
He served his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and his retina-vitreous fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.