Dr. Watzke was one of the first subspecialists trained in Boston by Dr. Charles Schepens who popularized the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope and scleral buckling procedures for retinal reattachment. He joined the faculty in 1958. He was regarded as a leading retina specialist, a talented and innovative surgeon as well as a proponent and organizer of national randomized clinical trials including the Diabetic Retinopathy Study and the Macular Photocoagulation Study which demonstrated the efficacy of laser surgery in proliferative diabetic retinopathy and in age-related macular degeneration.
The Robert C. Watzke Endowment was created to honor Dr. Watzke for his outstanding contributions, his humanitarianism and effectiveness as a mentor. It is intended to be used to support research of the retina and vitreous.
The inaugural appointee to this Professorship is Michael D. Abramoff, MD, PhD (June 2016)