ASRS Awards

The American Society of Retina Specialists presents several awards each year to recognize excellence and innovation in the field of retina. Congratulations to this year's recipients!

2025 Recipients

Gertrude D. Pyron Award and Lecture

The Retina Research Foundation’s 30th Annual Gertrude D. Pyron Award is being presented to Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD.

Dr. Apte is the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor at Washington University School of Medicine, where he serves as vice chair of innovation and translation in the John F. Hardesty, MD, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and is a professor in the Department of Developmental Biology and Medicine.

Dr. Apte’s research bridges scientific innovation and clinical/surgical practice. His discoveries related to aging and inflammation have transformed understanding of the root causes of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Dr. Apte’s research into neurodegeneration, drusen biogenesis, and angiogenesis have helped pave the way for future therapeutics to prevent vision loss.

The Pyron Award was created by the Retina Research Foundation of Houston, Texas—founded by the late Alice McPherson, MD—to recognize outstanding vision scientists whose work contributes to knowledge about vitreoretinal disease.

Click to learn more about Dr. Apte and the Pyron Award

ASRS Founders Award

Jerzy Nawrocki, MD, PhD, FASRS, chair of the Ophthalmology Department of the Jasne Blonia Clinic in Lodz, Poland, is the recipient of the 2025 ASRS Founders Award. Dr. Nawrocki, who co-founded the Jasne Blonia Clinic in 2001, is receiving the award for his major contributions to the advancement of vitreoretinal surgery, treatment, research, and patient care.

The Founders Award was first presented in 1997 to honor the efforts of the Society’s founders, Drs. Jerald A. Bovino, Roy A. Levit, and Allen Z. Verne, for their foresight, dedication, and leadership in establishing the Society as an open, democratic, worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement of vitreoretinal surgery and the study of vitreoretinal diseases.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Nawrocki and the Founders Award.

The Packo Service Award

Kevin J. Blinder, MD, FASRS, partner at The Retina Institute in St. Louis and professor of clinical ophthalmology and visual sciences at Washington University, is the winner of the 2025 Packo Award in recognition of his exceptional service to the Society.

The Packo Award is named in honor of its first recipient, ASRS 2001-2002 President Kirk H. Packo, MD, FACS, FASRS, whose dynamic leadership and strategic innovations helped shape and advance the Society for more than 30 years.

Dr. Blinder, who chairs The Retina Institute’s Retina Research Committee and co-directs its Retina Fellowship Program, joined the ASRS (then The Vitreous Society) in 1992 and has been actively involved for decades.

Click to learn more about Dr. Blinder and the Packo Award.

ASRS Presidents’ Young Investigator Award

The Foundation has selected Rajeev H. Muni, MD, MSC, FRCSC, FASRS, as the winner of the 12th annual ASRS Presidents’ Young Investigator Award. Dr. Muni is an associate professor and vice-chair of clinical research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences of the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The ASRS Presidents’ Young Investigator Award is given by the Foundation to honor past presidents of our Society by nurturing the development of next-generation retina leaders. It recognizes an ASRS member age 50 or younger who has made substantial contributions to the field of retina that will potentially improve our patients’ lives.

Click to learn more about Dr. Muni and the Young Investigator Award.

Early Career Section Crystal Apple Award

The ASRS Early Career Section has selected Sunil K. Srivastava, MD, as the winner of the 2025 Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching and mentorship.

Dr. Srivastava is a vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, where he serves as director of both the medical retina and vitreoretinal surgery fellowship programs.

The Crystal Apple Award is a special recognition presented to an ASRS member who has gone to great lengths to advance the education and professional development of young vitreoretinal specialists.