Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, M.D. Elected Into the American Ophthalmological Society
Mary Elizabeth "M.E." Hartnett, M.D. of the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah was recently elected into the prestigious American Ophthalmological Society (AOS).
Founding during the Civil War, the AOS was the first specialty society in the United States. The mission of the AOS is to promote excellence in patient care, education and research, to address essential issues in medicine, and to advance the art and science of ophthalmology.
The extensive requirements for being accepted into the AOS include: certification by the American Board of Ophthalmology, achieving distinction in the art and practice of ophthalmic science, proof of continuing scholarship, papers authored in refereed journals, promise of full participation in the Society and adding to the AOS spirit of collegiality. Determination of successful achievement of these requirements is performed through a nomination process by two members of the AOS.
As the final step to being elected, applicants must submit a thesis that is reviewed anonymously by the Committee on Theses. For her thesis, Dr. Hartnett wrote, "Studies on the Pathogenesis of Avascular Retina and Neovascularization into the Vitreous in Peripheral Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity." Dr.Hartnett reviewed the current understanding of the pathogenesis and management of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and presented her original research on the regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the development of features of severe ROP, namely avascular retina and intravitreous neovascularization. She then proposed a novel hypothesis as to the development of intravitreous neovascularization and peripheral avascular retina in peripheral severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
Dr. Hartnett joined the Moran Eye Center in 2010 and is building a pediatric retina center and a pediatric and adult retina clinical practice here. She performs surgery at both the Moran Eye Center and the Moran Pediatric Clinic at Primary Children's Medical Center.
As a vitreoretinal surgeon, Dr. Hartnett treats and manages adult and pediatric retinal cases. Her clinical interests include vitreoretinal surgical diseases, including retinopathy of prematurity, or abnormal blood vessel development in the eye of a premature baby; pediatric vitreoretinopathies; trauma; retinal detachments; and diabetic eye disease. She also has a special interest in age-related macular degeneration.
Discoveries in Dr. Hartnett's laboratory have the potential of reducing abnormal damaging blood vessel growth and the diseases associated with this condition by focusing on mechanisms to redirect blood vessel growth more "normally," to promote benefits to healthy tissue and reduce the stimulus for abnormal blood vessel growth. These are vital links to eventual treatments and cures for several eye diseases, including retinopathy of prematurity, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.