1882

Jacob C. Denise, MD, is named professor of Ophthalmology, Otology, and Laryngology at the Omaha Medical College.

1886

Nebraska Eye and Ear Infirmary is established by Harold Gifford, Sr., MD, at 923 North 38th Street, Omaha, Nebraska.

1898

Harold Gifford, Sr., MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology and Otology.

1909

The Omaha Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Society is organized.

1919

Sanford R. Gifford, MD, joins the University of Nebraska College of Medicine as an instructor in Ophthalmology and sets up a private laboratory on campus.

1925

James M. Patton, MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology and Otology.

1929

The divisions of Ophthalmology and Otology are organized into two separate departments.

Dr. Sanford Gifford leaves the department for Northwestern University School of Medicine, having published 53 scientific papers.

1932

William. H. Stokes, MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

1934

Harold Gifford, Jr., MD joins the faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology.

1943

J. Hewitt Judd, MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

1946

The Ophthalmology residency program is recognized by the University of Nebraska.

1951

Stanley M. Truhlsen, MD, joins the Department of Ophthalmology.

1957

The Lions Eye Bank of Nebraska is created to increase the number of eye tissue donors in the state.

1959

The Ophthalmology residency program is accredited.

1960

The Lions Eye Bank of Nebraska is established at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine.

1964

The Nebraska Lions Vincent C. Hascall Memorial Eye Bank and an eye clinic open on the third floor of University Hospital. The wing contains five exam rooms, a minor surgery room, visual field rooms, a photography lab, a pathology laboratory, a reception room, and a residents' office.

Harold Gifford, Jr., MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

1970

Raymond E. Records, MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

The Nebraska Lions Eye Institute is erected adjacent to the existing eye clinic in University Hospital to support clinical practice, research, and teaching.

1975

The Nebraska Lions Vincent C. Hascall Memorial Eye Bank moves to its own building near the UNMC Omaha campus. The facility provides space for patient care, student instruction, research and a new home for the eye bank.

1989

The Department of Ophthalmology relocates to the corner of 40th and Dewey Streets. The new building houses the clinical portion of the department, including 12 patient exam rooms, four diagnostic testing areas, a minor surgery room, a photography lab, a classroom, and administrative offices.

Stanley M. Truhlsen, MD, is named interim chair of Ophthalmology.

1990

Michael Yablonski, MD, PhD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

1993

The Gifford Laboratory of Ophthalmology is dedicated in honor of Drs. Harold Gifford, Sr., Sanford Gifford, and Harold Gifford, Jr.

The Harold Gifford, Jr. Lecture Series is established.

1995

The Eye Specialties Building is added to 40th and Dewey Streets Eye Clinic.

1996

UNMC ophthalmologist, Carl Camras, MD, discovers new glaucoma treatment drug Latanoprost (Xalatan), which is still the most prescribed glaucoma medication today.

1998

The Lions Eye Research Laboratories are established on the first floor of the Eye Specialties Building.

2000

Carl B. Camras, MD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

2003

Stanley M. Truhlsen Research Floor for the Department of Ophthalmology opens in the Durham Research Center.

2005

The Department of Ophthalmology is renamed the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

2008

Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation opens. It is the first free-standing low vision center on a university medical center campus in the U. S.

2009

Thomas E. Hejkal, MD, PhD, is named chair of Ophthalmology.

2010

The Department of Ophthalmology launches an international division headed by Mike Feilmeier, MD.

2012

Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc, is named the McGaw Memorial Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology and inaugural director of the Truhlsen Eye Institute.

2013

The Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute opens and houses the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. A $20 million, 54,536-square-foot facility, the institute features outpatient eye exam facilities, an optical shop, and a comprehensive regional diagnostic center.

A research partnership with Tongji University and the Tenth People's Hospital in Shanghai, China, is announced to combine forces on areas of significant concerns for visual loss, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and uveitis and ocular inflammation.

2014

Mary and Roy Pearson gift $1.3 million to support research in macular degeneration and regenerative medicine.

The inaugural Gifford-Truhlsen Conference is held. It provides a venue for presentations by the residents, fellows, and alumni of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Four visiting professors are honored each year with the following named lectures: Harold Gifford, Jr. Memorial Lecture; Stanley M. Truhlsen, MD, Memorial Lecture; Judy and C. David Fritch, MD, Lecture; and the Bernstein-Kroon Memorial Lecture.

2015

The Truhlsen Eye Institute at UNMC is designated a Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, only the second in the United States to receive the honor. The selection is based on the number of continuous publications in evidence-based medicine in ophthalmology and visual sciences.

2016

James W. Gigantelli, MD, is named interim chair and director of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute.

2018

Ronald Krueger, MD, is named McGaw Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and director of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute.

2021

The MMI Vision Clinic opens in the recently completed Munroe-Meyer Institute building on the Pacific Street campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Steven Yeh, MD, is named the first recipient of the Stanley Truhlsen Jr. Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology.

May 22, 2023

The Truhlsen Eye Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary of operation.