Main areas of expertise

• Medical and Surgical Retinology
• Microsurgery of the Anterior and Posterior Segments of the Eye
• Cataract and Intraocular Surgery
• Diagnosis and Treatment of Macular Diseases (including Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Maculopathy)
• Diseases of the Vitreoretinal Interface
• Pharmacologic Vitreolysis, Diabetic Retinopathy, Ocular Histopathology
• Multimodal Ophthalmic Imaging

• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Faculty of Medicine (1968–1974)
• Doctor of Medicine (Dr. med.), dissertation topic: Retinal Detachment (1974)
• Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) in Ophthalmology: “Epiretinal and Vitreous Membranes” (1981)

International and Scientific Activities

• Fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, USA
• Author of more than 15 books and over 400 scientific publications
• Speaker and visiting professor at international ophthalmology congresses

Member and president of leading scientific societies:

• Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG) — President (1996–1997), Secretary General (1999–2014)
• Academia Ophthalmologica Europaea — President (2011–2014)
• Member of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, ARVO, AAO, and Macula Society

Awards and Recognition

• Paul Chibret Medal (2003)
• Clare-Jung Award and Reggio Retina Award (2007)
• Senior Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology (2012)
• Honorary Member of DOG and BVA
• Recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2020)
• Inducted into the Retina Hall of Fame (2017) and Hall of Fame Ophthalmologie (2023)
• Listed among Focus Magazine’s Best Doctors in Germany since 1993