The Colombian Society of Ophthalmology awarded the ‘Álvaro Rodríguez González’ teaching merit medal to the renowned ophthalmologist from Santander, Virgilio Galvis Ramírez; and at the same time he conferred a valuable honorable mention to the also prominent ophthalmologist in our region, Alejandro Tello Hernández.
The awards were announced, virtually, in the framework of the XXXIX National Congress of Ophthalmology, held online, given the conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Galvis Ramírez was selected by the Board of Directors of this scientific society for his extensive academic career, since for more than four decades he has been a tireless leader in the scientific strengthening of ophthalmology in Colombia.
During the ceremony, the honoree was appointed to present a special conference at the congress, whose theme was the corneal epithelium in refractive surgery, where he referred to the latest findings on this topic with the latest available technologies.
Galvis Ramírez was the promoter of the establishment of the specialization in ophthalmology in Bucaramanga, after a program in agreement between the UIS and the FOSCAL for more than 35 years; and later another specialization program in association with UNAB.
In addition, in 2007 it established the FOSCAL International Course of Ophthalmology, an annual academic activity that has positioned itself as one of the main ones in scientific dissemination in Latin America.
He, who was Minister of Health between 1998 and 2000, had already been awarded the Prize for the Prevention of Blindness, awarded by the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology in 2015.
Research is another of Dr. Galvis Ramírez’s priorities. This is how three years ago he completed his doctorate with a thesis on myopia, at the University of Oviedo, in Spain.
Due to his scientific production, he is qualified as a senior researcher by Minciencias and was included, along with Dr. Alejandro Tello, among the 20 researchers with the highest number of publications in all areas of Medicine in Colombia in the last decade.
In the opening ceremony of the congress, Dr. Alberto Luis Díaz, president of the Colombian Society of Ophthalmology, also presented an honorable mention to Dr. Alejandro Tello Hernández.
He, who was a student of Dr. Galvis Ramírez and has worked alongside him for more than two decades, has been characterized by his permanent interest in academia and research. One of the scientific works carried out by Dr. Tello Hernández, in collaboration with Dr. Galvis Ramírez and other international researchers, on the possibly inflammatory nature of a corneal disease (keratoconus) was published a few years ago in one of the most important journals. prestigious names in the world (the London Eye, UK) and has received more than 100 citations in other published scientific papers.
Currently, also with Dr. Galvis Ramírez, Dr. Alejandro Tello is working on various research projects, including the analysis of the effect of increased lighting in classrooms, on the appearance and progression of myopia, and on the development of a new software for the analysis of corneal endothelial cells.
It is worth mentioning that at the same meeting, mentions were given to two other outstanding Colombian ophthalmologists: Dr. Alejandra de la Torre, from Bogotá; and Dr. Luis Fernando Mejía, from Medellín.
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