A Celebration of Research Excellence at the
Emory Eye Center

Research icons John Nickerson, Hans Grossniklaus, Machelle T. Pardue honored for career achievements

The Research Division of the Emory Eye Center has had a lot to celebrate this spring. At the top of that list are its people.

Research icons Machelle T. Pardue, PhD, Hans E. Grossniklaus MD, MBA, and John Nickerson, PhD were the guests of honor May 12 when Emory Eye Center hosted A Reception for the Celebration of Research Excellence at the Carlos Museum. The early evening soiree gave colleagues and friends an opportunity to both roast and celebrate the three, who recently marked some career-defining milestones.

It is no secret to anyone in our field these three have brought depth and impact to vision research, said Allen Beck, the F. Phinizy Calhoun, Sr., Chair of Ophthalmology and director of the Emory Eye Center.

Together, they have contributed more than 100 years to the study of eye disorders, interventions, and vision health. 

John Nickerson, PhD

First to the podium was John Nickerson, who recently stepped down from his role as the director of research. Nickerson now plans to narrow his research focus and mentor junior faculty during a 'phased retirement' that will begin this fall. He commended the department for leveraging P30 Core and T32 Training grants for more than 30 years. Then, with his signature dry wit, he told the gathering that there was 'a hint of glee' in his voice over the recent return of RPB funding, which he helped to oversee.

Among his most valued achievements, he said, was the establishment of the Atlanta Vision Research Community (AVRC), a collaborative group of researchers, physicians, post-docs, and educators that has become a springboard for new research, new collaborations, and mentorship in vision research and education. In addition to Emory, the AVRC draws members from Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Morehouse School of Medicine, the VA, and even the CDC.

It is really unparalleled. There is nothing like the AVRC anywhere in the country, he said. What we have done with this group goes well beyond what we'd normally expect from an eminent school of ophthalmology. We have set the bar high for others.

Nickerson said he was also incredibly proud of the establishment of Molecular Vision, the first online, peer-reviewed journal indexed by the National Library of Medicine to give researchers immediate access to new findings in molecular biology, cell biology, and the genetics of the visual system (ocular and cortical).

It met a pressing need for researchers to gain immediate access to new research. We were 'open access before there was 'open access', he said of the journal, which was founded in 1995.

His light-hearted quips notwithstanding, Nickerson was unmistakably serious when he turned his attention to his colleagues, friends, and family

It has been an absolute privilege to work with the faculty, staff, and students here. My sincerest gratitude is reserved for them, he said. And I would not be here but for the support of my wife, Kathy, and daughters Beth and Becky. 

Hans Grossniklaus, MD, MBA

Next up was Dr. Hans Grossniklaus, who recently completed his term as the president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and has also stepped away from clinical care over the past year. A 30+ year member of the Department of Ophthalmology, he assured his colleagues that he will continue to stick around to do eye pathology, but will do so without a title he has held for four years: vice chair of translational research.

On the latter point, he pivoted to an insightful and humorous observation:

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, with John [Nickerson] stepping down as the director of research and me stepping down as vice chair, we are going to be asking Machelle [Pardue] to do the work of two men. She'll do both. And I think she will do them both, better.

Grossniklaus told his colleagues that he will remain in the department, as a committed practitioner of translational research.

We're a clinical department so we've always brought what we found in the lab to benefit the care of our patients. As a translational researcher, I've always been the transition - not so much between John [Nickerson] and Machelle [Pardue] but between the basic science, the clinical science, and the pathology of ophthalmic disease. It's an important mission, one that we share with many of our predecessors.

Grossniklaus elicited applause as he mentioned the previous directors: Henry F. Edelhauser, P. Michael Iuvone, and John M. Nickerson. The applause grew louder at the mention of Machelle T. Pardue, the next speaker.

Machelle T. Pardue, PhD

Emory Eye Center's new vice chair and director of research brought an assuring mixture of humility and confidence to her time at the dais. She started by thanking all who paved the road this moment in her research career, including former Department chair Thomas Aaberg, who forged Pardue's first connection with Emory 20+ years ago.

was doing research for the VA in Chicago, so I was lucky to get that funding transferred when my husband got a job here in Atlanta, she recalled. I remember visiting Dr. Aaberg in his office and saying 'Could I join your department?' He said yes, and for the next 15 years I grew a lab and some incredible research collaborations here.

Looking ahead, Pardue said she relished the opportunity to build on the strengths of a department that has always been like a second home, professionally. To that end, she mentioned four priorities that would frame her leadership.

My first priority is to build our research team, she said.I look forward to welcoming new faces to our department and to sharing ideas that cross different disciplines.

To that point, Pardue also affirmed her commitment to translational research, an approach that demands cross-cutting collaborations between basic and clinical science as a way to improve patient care. She said one of the considerations that would influence new hire decisions would be the degree to which candidates could establish a translational research connection with current clinical faculty.

Another factor Pardue said would influence the recruitment of new researchers will be diversity. She told listeners that through a conscious recruitment of under-represented minorities she looked forward to building a presence that would more accurately reflect the diverse nature of both the patient and the research.

-Kathleen E. Moore