Lansche family endows distinguished chair in ophthalmology

To celebrate the endowment, a reception and dedication ceremony will be held Thursday, April 22, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Shiley Eye Center, 9415 Campus Point Drive. Shiley faculty will join the Lansche family, professional colleagues and friends to mark the occasion.

Dr. Stuart Brown, chairman of the Shiley Eye Center, said the contribution by Mrs. Lansche honors the work and memory of her late husband, Dr. Richard K. Lansche, a respected San Diego-area ophthalmologist.

“Both Richard’s and Tatiana’s contributions to the San Diego medical community and to the ongoing mission of medical education are immense,” said Dr. Brown. “This endowed chair will not only honor and recognize Dr. Lansche for his distinction in the field of ophthalmology, but it will provide invaluable research support here at Shiley Eye Center.”

A UCSD search committee will select the inaugural holder of the chair later this year.

A resident of Rancho Santa Fe, the late Dr. Lansche was a graduate of Cornell University Medical School. He completed his internship at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After marrying Tatiana in 1954, he entered the U.S. Army as a Captain.

Following his military service, Dr. Lansche spent two months as a Fellow in Ophthalmology in London, England. He and Tatiana later settled in La Jolla, where they established a solo practice in Ophthalmology.

Dr. Lansche obtained a hospital appointment to the Scripps Hospital and as a Consultant in Ophthalmology and Neuro-Ophthalmology to the Scripps Clinic. For two years, Dr. Lansche served as chairman of the La Jolla Academy of Medicine, an organization that Mrs. Lansche continues to be involved in today.

Throughout his career Dr. Lansche was an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology; the Societe Francaise Ophthalmogie, Member-titulaire de la Societe; the American Association of Military Ophthalmologists, and the American Intra-Ocular Implant Society. He was a Fellow of the Society of Military Ophthalmologists and President of the San Diego Eye Bank. In 1960, Dr. Lansche presented the prestigious Barraquer Lecture in Spain.

At the time of his death, Dr. Lansche was involved in a research project trying to link the computer to human memory. He was working on a determinate for design in a semi conductor-based intelligent computer.

“Richard’s love of learning continued throughout his life,” Dr. Brown said. “I am so honored that Tatiana and the Lansche family chose to remember him and his work by providing a Distinguished Chair in Ophthalmology for the UCSD Shiley Eye Center.

Home to the Department of Ophthalmology of the UCSD Medical School, The Shiley Eye Center brings together internationally respected physicians, clinicians, scientists and experts to provide the best possible care for patients while advancing leading-edge research into the causes of, and treatments for, diseases and disorders affecting the eye. For more information, visit http://eyesite.ucsd.edu, or call (858) 534-4981.

This gift contributes to the $1 billion fund-raising goal of The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What’s Next. Campaign priorities include supporting students and faculty through scholarships, fellowships and endowed chairs; creating and expanding academic programs; funding research endeavors and health sciences advancements; and providing innovation funds and unrestricted support. To date, UCSD has raised $591.7 million; the campaign is scheduled to conclude in June 2007.