Dr. Hsu, his wife, Vatinee Bunya, MD, and Dr. Hsu’s mentor, Arunan Sivalingam, MD. (Image credit: Kevin Caldwell)

The phrase, “We stand on the shoulders of giants” resonated throughout the Atlantic Coast Retina Club/Macula 2026 meeting. 

In our field, we often think of those who set our subspecialty in motion: Robert Machemer; Charles
Schepens; Jules Gonin; and Arnall Patz, amongst a myriad of others whose inquisitive nature and daring pushed our field forward into its current iteration. 

As we also celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Wills Eye Retina Service, I was reminded of how relatively young our field is and yet how many greats have come before me, including P. Robb McDonald, Charles Rife, William Annesley, William Tasman, and Lov Sarin who founded the service. 

It was a chance to honor living legends, such as our former chief of the Retina Service, William
Benson, and our current ophthalmologist-in-chief and CEO, Julia Haller as a new fund supporting the retina research fellowship was inaugurated in their names. 

One of the highlights for me was seeing more than 50 former residents and fellows return for the celebration. It was a combination of those whom I have helped train and many others who came before me. Sitting around and hearing stories about the craziness of fellowship really cemented the bond that we have across time through our shared experiences.

The glue that brought everyone back was really our fellowship director, Arunan Sivalingam, who has been in that role for almost a quarter century. Nothing compares to his calm demeanor, his personal investment in getting to know each fellow, and his wardrobe (think bowties and crazy socks). As I look back and think about the people who have influenced my career trajectory the most, Dr. Sivalingam stands out. He has been an advocate for me from the days of my fellowship, offering me my first (and only) job, promoting me in our research department, and mentoring me countless times over the years. 

We have all become very busy, which as many patients remind me, is a blessing for our livelihood. However, it’s worth taking a breather and thinking about how each of us got here. Remember the mentors who helped you along the way and think about taking a few minutes to make a call or send a message to one (or more) of those mentors who have made a difference in your life. RS