John E. Dowling
May 2012 Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)
“Simple curiosity as to how things work has played an enormous role in directing my scientific life.” These words are from Dr. John Dowling, an international leader in vision research. His curiosity has served all of us well, and we are privileged to have him with us today.
For more than 50 years, Dr. Dowling has studied how the retina works. His groundbreaking research has encompassed many approaches – from anatomy to pharmacology.
Dr. Ian Meinertzhagen, ±«Óătv Research Professor and former Canada Council Killam Research Fellow, has said:
“Dr. Dowling has made foremost contributions to the science of vision and the function of the retina from which much of our current understanding stems, and medical treatments follow.”
Dr. Dowling has contributed to this understanding in many ways. He is author or co-author of more than 260 papers and has written a number of books. These include the highly influential text The Retina: An Approachable Part of the Brain.
Indeed, with Dr. Dowling, who is the Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Neurosciences and Professor of Ophthalmology in Neuroscience at Harvard, it is impossible to separate the neuroscientist from the educator. He is a teacher, researcher, mentor and colleague. Ěý
Dr. Dowling’s affiliation with Harvard began as an undergraduate and doctoral student, where he was inspired by Dr. George Wald, who would become a Nobel laureate. After positions at Harvard and then Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Dowling returned to his alma mater to stay in 1971.
At Harvard, he has served as biology chair, associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Maria Moors Cabot Professor of Natural Sciences. In addition, for many years, Dr. Dowling and his wife, Judith, contributed to students’ growth as masters of Harvard’s Leverett House.
Dr. Dowling has made a lasting impression on his students. A symposium organized in celebration of Dr. Dowling’s 65th birthday was attended by about 90 per cent of the students who had worked in his lab over the years. And the appreciation is mutual.
As Dr. Dowling wrote in an autobiographical essay: “Much of my success, without a doubt, has come from my students and co-workers who arrived in the laboratory with wonderful skills or ideas, and my contribution to their work has been to encourage them, to give them free rein, and to help focus their efforts on the most significant questions.”
Dr. Dowling has also brought his many talents to the internationally renowned Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He has worn a number of hats there, including president of the corporation.
Dr. Dowling’s present and past service to numerous organizations is impressive. Here are some examples: project chair of the Lasker/IRRF Initiative for Innovation in Vision Science, Scientific Advisory Board member for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
His contributions and achievements have been recognized with many honours, including the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research, the Glenn A. Fry Medal in Physiological Optics, and the Llura Liggett Gund Award whose recipients are described as “leading visionaries in the retinal research community.” He was awarded an honorary degree by Lund University in Sweden.
Dr. Dowling is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
At ±«Óătv, we, too, have benefited from Dr. Dowling’s influence. Many faculty members have links to Dr. Dowling; our students read from his work and study retina specimens that he has provided. In addition, Dr. Dowling has lectured here and spoke at the opening of the Retina and Optic Nerve Research Laboratory at our medical school.
Curiosity may be essential in his scientific life, but it is his abundance of talent and generosity of spirit that make Dr. Dowling a highly-respected researcher, educator and individual.Ěý
For all of these reasons, I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, in the name of the Senate, to bestow upon Dr. John Dowling the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Ěý