CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.—Dr. Perry Rosenthal, a pioneering Boston ophthalmologist, has received the 2016 Max Schapero Memorial Lecture Award, the Boston EyePain Foundation announced. The award will officially be presented to Dr. Rosenthal at the Section's Awards Program in Anaheim, California on Nov. 9, 2016.

The award was announced to Rosenthal by the Awards Committee of the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies of the American Academy of Optometry, and official notice of the award was delivered by Tim Edrington, OD, MS, FAAO, chair of the Section Awards Committee.

While training at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Dr. Rosenthal founded its Contact Lens Service and also pioneered the development of rigid gas permeable contact lenses.

Along with founding the Boston EyePain Foundation, Dr. Rosenthal is a lecturer and researcher with several published articles. “I can’t describe what an honor it is to win this prestigious award,” said Dr. Rosenthal. “To be recognized by an organization that has done so much to encourage excellence in patient care and foster professional growth in this area makes this a very special tribute.”

The Max Schapero Memorial Lecture was established in 1972 to honor the memory of Professor Schapero, a dedicated member of the Academy. The award is given yearly to a clinician, researcher or scholar “who has made a significant contribution to the cornea and contact lens field by virtue of his or her publications, lectures, and research efforts.”