The Snyder Family Fellowship Endowment Fund
Established in 2014, the Snyder Family Fellowship Fund was used by the University to establish and endow the Snyder Family Fellowship in the Diseases and Surgery of the Retina, Macula and Vitreous. This Fellowship supports postgraduate Fellows undergoing specialized training in eye surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science under the direction of Seenu M. Hariprasad, MD. Mr. John Snyder’s desire to give to the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science stems from personal experience; his father and uncle lost their eyesight from macular degeneration. “When people begin losing their eyesight at an advanced age, it is harder for them to adapt through learning braille or using assistive technologies,” Snyder notes. "My father started losing his ability to read, and since he was a lawyer, books were his life,” Snyder says. “He eventually had to use a magnifying glass and was hardly able to see the television. It affected his mental outlook, and he declined very rapidly." Snyder wants to help other future patients – including his own children, who are genetically predisposed to macular degeneration – to avoid his father’s fate. Snyder is optimistic that Dr. Hariprasad and the University of Chicago Medicine Vitreoretinal Service, with assistance from generous donations, will be able to train more doctors and scholars on how to better prevent and treat diseases of the retina. |
The Shui-Chin Lee Fellowship Endowment Fund
Established in 2014, the Shui-Chin Lee Fellowship Endowment Fund was used by the University to establish and endow the Shui-Chin Lee Fellowship in the Diseases and Surgery of the Retina, Macula, and Vitreous. The Fellowship support postgraduate Fellows undergoing specialized training in eye surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science under the direction of Seenu M. Hariprasad, MD. Perhaps the most important idea that Mr. Shui-Chin Lee taught his children was that while acquiring knowledge was imperative, the way knowledge and information were internally processed and organized mattered more. To that end, he encouraged them to immerse themselves in math, science and technology. This allowed his children to cultivate their ability in dialectic analysis, a philosophical tool that emphasizes reason and deduction in order to verify and probe for the highest of all concepts: truth. It is the pursuit of this truth that ultimately drives academics and its sciences; it is the impetus of the research we perform in our Vitreoretinal Service, to seek answers to questions that impact vision and, therefore, human life. |
Non-endowment Fellowship SupportSeveral, generous philanthropic donors have provided the additional, ongoing, annual support necessary for sustaining our fellowship training program.
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