This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Dry eye disease pioneer Jeffrey P. Gilbard, MD, dies at 55 years of age
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
 Jeffrey P. Gilbard |
WOBURN, Mass. — Jeffrey P. Gilbard, MD, whose pioneering research led to innovative treatments for dry eye disease and retinal disorders, died Aug. 12 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston from complications from a bicycle accident. He was 55 years old.
Known for his holistic approach to eye care, Dr. Gilbard is considered one of the first ophthalmic researchers to recognize the link between nutrition and the overall health of the eye.
Dr. Gilbard founded Advanced Vision Research in 1995 to market and distribute TheraTears, an over-the-counter eye drop he invented to treat dry eye. TheraTears soon became one of the best-selling eye lubricants on the market and has spawned additional products, including TheraTears Nutrition, MacuTrition and NutriDox.
In 1978, while attending medical school at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Gilbard received his first project grant from the National Eye Institute to develop an eye drop for treating dry eye. To this day, he remains the youngest scientist on record to receive funding from the organization.
"Jeff Gilbard, MD, made extraordinary contributions to ophthalmology," Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, told Ocular Surgery News. "His observations, research and therapeutic advances have changed our treatment of dry eye disease and have helped millions of patients. His unexpected passing is a loss to all of ophthalmology, and he will be missed."
Dr. Gilbard completed his ophthalmology residency at Harvard Medical School in the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he remained as a Heed Fellow in cornea and served as a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gilbard also served as director of the Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disease Clinic at the New England Eye Center in Boston.
"Jeff Gilbard was an innovative, gifted ophthalmologist and researcher, who made several important contributions to our profession," Edward J. Holland, MD, director of Cornea Service at the Cincinnati Eye Institute, said in a statement from Advanced Vision Research announcing Dr. Gilbard's passing. "He was the first person to understand the importance of tear film osmolarity, and his development of hypotonic artificial tears containing bicarbonate and potassium is a landmark event in the treatment of dry eye disease. ... Dr. Gilbard's legacy will be the scientific papers he authored, the revolutionary products he developed to help patients with ocular surface and retinal disease, and most notably the people whose lives he'll continue to improve."
“Jeff Gilbard was an extraordinary man. Not only was he brilliant, but his work ethic was second to none,” Neil Donnenfeld, senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing at Advanced Vision Research, told OSN. “Having traveled with Jeff to almost every major ophthalmological and optometric meeting in the country, he was on a first-name basis with literally thousands of doctors who would stop by the TheraTears booth. A great synergy existed between Jeff’s desire to help dry eye patients and the desire of his colleagues to learn more about the condition. And he was the expert. He loved to share his knowledge. The industry has lost a huge asset.”
Dr. Gilbard is survived by his wife, Liz, and three children. A memorial service will be held on Aug. 17 at 11 a.m. at Temple Shir Tikva, 141 Boston Post Road, Wayland, Mass.