Doheny Alumnus Honored by President Biden

We are proud to share that David Huang, MD, PhD, who received ophthalmology residency training at Doheny Eye Institute/University of Southern California (1994–97) and began his career here, was presented with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation during a ceremony held at the White House on October 24, 2023. Dr. Huang and co-inventors, James G. Fujimoto, PhD, and Eric A. Swanson, MS, were presented with the award – the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement – by President Joseph Biden. The trio were recognized for inventing optical coherence tomography (OCT).

The invention of OCT revolutionized the way eye disease is both diagnosed and treated, by enabling ophthalmologists to identify disease early – often before patients experience symptoms. OCT is also utilized for a range of other medical conditions that impact the heart, brain, skin and digestive tract, among others.

During the presentation, President Biden noted, “You’re literally changing the world for the better.” A video of the ceremony is available here. 

Established by Congress and administered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the first Medal of Technology and Innovation was presented in 1985. The ceremony in October marked the first time this award was given since 2015.

That award was presented on the heels of another prestigious honor: In September 2023, Dr. Huang, Dr. Fujimoto and Dr. Swanson received the 2023 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for their transformative imaging technology. Considered “America’s Nobel Prize,” the Lasker Award is considered the United States’ most distinguished prize in biomedical research. Dr. Huang was also inducted into the National Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Huang holds 42 patents, has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and has been cited more than 40,000 times in scientific articles. He currently serves as the director of research, associate director, and Wold Family Chair in Ophthalmic Imaging at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Casey Eye Institute. He is also a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine.

We congratulate Dr. Huang for continuing to live the mission of Doheny – working to conserve, improve and restore human eyesight – with this tremendous contribution to the field of ophthalmology and health care as a whole.