A rare honour to Indian ophthalmologist
Visakhapatnam: Founder- chair of the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) Gullapalli N Rao was awarded with the coveted ‘ICO Jules François Golden Medal for 2024’ by the International Council of Ophthalmology. He received the award at the ‘World Ophthalmology Congress 2024 (WOC2024)’ held recently in Vancouver, Canada.
The ICO Jules François Golden Medal for 2024 is given once every four years for ‘ophthalmic work of the highest scientific quality.’ Dr Rao is the first Indian ophthalmologist and one of the eleven people in the world to be honoured with the gold medal.
The gold medal is named after Dr Jules François, a preeminent Belgian ophthalmologist and productive researcher, who had published over 1,500 papers in the field.
Dr Francois, considered one of the most influential figures in global ophthalmology, was the Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Ghent Medical School for most of his professional life. In 1986, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) instituted a gold medal in his name, to be given every four years to ophthalmologists for their remarkable scientific contributions.