The National Eye Institute mourns the loss of M. Velma Dobson, Ph.D., a long-time advisor and expert on NEI clinical research studies in infants and children. She passed away on Friday, April 9 from Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive motor neuron condition. She was 61.
Dr. Dobson was on the faculty at the University of Arizona where she held appointments in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Vision Science and Psychology. For over 20 years, Dr. Dobson contributed her time and expertise to the NEI as an exceptional investigator, advisor, peer-reviewer, and Data and Safety Monitoring Committee member. She was an integral part and invaluable resource for a number of NEI-funded clinical research studies in infants and children including the Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity (CRYO-ROP) trial, the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ETROP) trial, the Amblyopia in Astigmatic Children-Development and Treatment study, and the Vision In Preschoolers (VIP) study. Dr. Dobson authored numerous scientific articles.
In 2009, the NEI presented an award to Dr. Velma Dobson for her outstanding contributions to the field of infant and child vision research and for her distinguished service to the NEI.