Newsmakers

Blindness prevention organization honors Seddon

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Johanna M. Seddon was recently named the recipient of the first Dr. Maurice F. Rabb Jr. Award. Presented by Prevent Blindness America, the nation’s leading volunteer organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, the award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and dedication to the field of vision health. The honor was presented Oct. 14 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago.

An ophthalmologic retina surgeon, and founder and director of the epidemiology unit at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Seddon was chosen for the award for her continued dedication to age-related macular degeneration research.

Undergrads recognized for food science research

Freshman biology student Anne Langguth of Iowa City, Iowa, and sophomore neurobiology student Penny Fang of Ames, Iowa, were recognized at the 2005 World Food Prize Foundation’s laureate ceremony on Oct. 13 at the Iowa State Capital in Des Moines. The two were recognized for their outstanding work as World Food Prize interns in 2004.

Langguth was awarded the John Chrystal Award for her research at Peking University in Beijing where she worked to pinpoint genes that produce stronger, more productive rice plants. Fang, who completed her internship at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, received the Ahmanson Intern Award for her work with drought resistance in rice plants.

Sadako Ogata named PON Great Negotiator

Former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata will receive the distinguished Great Negotiator Award, presented by the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School (HLS) today (Oct. 20). Ogata worked throughout the ’90s on behalf of refugees and mobilized support for the emerging crisis of those identified as “internally displaced persons” in the Kurdish region of Iraq, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and the African Great Lakes region.

A discussion with Ogata will accompany the award presentation from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, HLS. The talk is free and open to the public. Visit http://www.pon.harvard.edu for more information.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks