Melvin L. Rubin

Melvin L. Rubin, M.D. was an American ophthalmologist who specialized in retinal diseases, optics and refraction. A professor emeritus at University of Florida Health, he is known for his contributions to ophthalmic education and research. Rubin was president and board member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and chairman of the American Boards of Ophthalmology. According to JAMA Ophthalmology, Rubin was "one of the foremost scholars and teachers of his generation."

Early career Trained initially as an optometrist, Rubin later studied medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. After completing his internship he earned a masters degree and completed his residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He worked with the US Public Health Service as executive secretary of the NIH Research Training Committee in Bethesda, Maryland, before moving to Gainesville, Florida.

Well-known as a retinal surgeon, Rubin also held a number of distinguished positions in ophthalmic organizations. He was president and late on the board directors of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (1988); president of the Foundation of the AAO; and chairman of the American Boards of Ophthalmology (ABO). While secretary for instruction for the Academy of Ophthalmology, he created the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) which remains an annual part of residency training programs. During his career, Rubin traveled widely teaching optics and refraction, presented dozens of named lectures, and wrote more than 100 scientific papers. an independent publisher and had three children, Gabrielle, Daniel, and Michael. He was also interested in photography—he built a large and significant collection of 20th century photographs.

Legacy According to JAMA Ophthalmology, Rubin was "one of the foremost scholars and teachers of his generation."

The copyrights for The Dictionary of Eye Terminology were gifted to the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2015, which has produced new editions of the work. The dictionary is currently in its 8th edition.

The Florida Society of Ophthalmology named their only named lectureship for Rubin.

The Melvin and Lorna Rubin endowment was established in 1997 to support the acquisition of photography for the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art’s collections. In recognition for this and other contributions, there is a "Melvin and Lorna Rubin" gallery in the Harn, dedicated to showing photographic works.

Selected publications