Mark Scott Blumenkranz (born October 23, 1950) is an American physician, surgeon, businessman, and entrepreneur. He is a trained ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon, and has served as H.J. Smead Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology of the Byers Eye Institute at the

Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...

since 1997. He has founded or served on the Board of Directors of a number of companies, including Oculex, Peak Surgical, Optimedica Corporation, MacuSight, and Adverum Biotechnologies. In addition, he serves as a trustee of

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Early life and education

Blumenkranz was born in New York City and grew up in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He attended

, where he earned a bachelor's degree, medical degree, and master's degree in biochemical pharmacology. He attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

for residency in ophthalmology, where he was chief resident, and University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute for a vitreoretinal fellowship.

Academic career

Blumenkranz began his academic career as an assistant professor at University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from 1980–1985. He moved to Michigan in 1985, where he became a clinical associate professor at Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine. He has been a professor at

since 1992, and has served as the chairman of ophthalmology at Stanford since 1997.

Entrepreneurship

Blumenkranz has founded a number of successful Silicon Valley start-up companies, beginning in the 1980s. Notably, he was on the Board of Directors of Oculex Pharmaceuticals, which was later sold to Allergan. He was on the board of directors of MacuSight, which was later sold to Santen, Inc. He was a founder and board member of OptiMedica Corporation (later sold to

Abbott Medical Optics Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist *Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas * ...

), Peak Surgical (later sold to

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

), and Adverum Biotechnologies.

Awards

Blumenkranz has won the

American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) is a professional medical association of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its membership of 32,000 medical doctors includes more than 90 percent of practicing ...

Life Achievement Award (2008), the Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionary Award (2009), AOA Brown University (2011), and the AAO Jackson Memorial Lecture (2013).

Personal life

Blumenkranz is married to Recia Kott Blumenkranz, MD, and has three children, Carla, Scott, and Erik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenkranz, Mark S. 1950 births Living people American surgeons Brown University alumni Alpert Medical School alumni Stanford University School of Medicine faculty