s
Frank
J. Holly, PhD
Dr. Holly is a humanitarian whose brilliance is only overshadowed
by his humility. We are forever indebted to him for his contributions
and bravery.
Sincerely,
Ron Link
Executive Director
Frank
J. Holly acquired a background in chemical engineering at the Technical
University of Budapest. After immigrating to the United States he
received his doctorate in physical chemistry at Cornell University
in 1962. From the beginning of his research career he applied his
basic science and engineering background to problems in biology and
medicine. He spent five years researching blood compatibility of prosthetic
dental materials and one year lecturing in Central America.
In 1968
he began a ten year association with the Retina Foundation (now known
as the Schepen's Eye Research Institute), in the Cornea Research Department.
As early as 1969, he experimented with and proposed the use of higher
molecular weight aliphatic alcohols such as heptane to decane for
the removal of corneal epithelium with no observable damage to the
basement membrane.
By employing
surface chemical methods and principles, he and his fellow co-workers
created a sound scientific basis for tear film physiology and gained
unique insight into the pathophysiology of tear-film disorders. Among
his major contributions to ophthalmology are the description of the
hydrophobic character of the corneal epithelium surface and the discovery
of the unexpectedly high surface activity of mucous glycoprotein.
Holly was the first to recognize that the actual cause of dry spot
formation is local non-wetting rather than local drying. He established
the importance of lipid-protein and mucin-water interaction in tear
film stability and explained in basic terms tear film formation and
rupture.
Holly
proposed a double membrane hypothesis of retinal adhesion, so far
the most realistic of such models. Holly suggested a novel possible
cause of contact angle hysteresis, now widely accepted in basic science
and engineering, by proposing a molecular mechanism effecting a hydrophobic-hydrophilic
transformation of solids, especially hydrogel and biosurfaces. Dr.
Holly collaborated in cancer research with researchers in the National
Cancer Institute by employing his novel techniques to the study of
cellular fibronectin and its role in cellular interaction.
In 1978,
he joined Texas Tech University School of Medicine in West Texas,
where, three years later, he became a Professor of Ophthalmology and
Biochemistry. At that institution, he and his colleagues investigated
tear components in an attempt to identify the lacrimal surfactant
and to develop novel clinical tests for the diagnosis of the various
dry eye states. His group also studied the factors that determine
biocompatibility of contact lenses.
In the
early '80's, the National Eye Institute planned to establish a National
Tear Research Center. Due to the unexpectedly successful International
Tear Film Symposium organized by Holly in 1984, West Texas was selected
as the location of such a research center. Outstanding and budding
scientists and physicians from all over the world expressed their
desire to spend one or two years in Lubbock to do pioneering lacrimal
research under the direction of Dr. Holly.
Regrettably,
these promising developments came to naught due to the shortsightedness
of the local administrators. After two lecture tours, one in Europe
and later one in the Orient, Holly started his own research and development
laboratory, Vision R&D Laboratory, to develop novel, efficacious
collyria for dry eye patients, and he retired from academia. His most
recent scientific contribution together with his son has been the
proposal of a new mechanism of lubrication for blinking which corrects
the deficiencies of previous hypotheses and provides a solid ground
for the modern formulation work of novel ophthalmic lubricants.
Unable
to interest companies in marketing his novel eye drops, Dr. Holly
started his own pharmaceutical company, Dakryon, to make the eye drops
available to dry eye patients. After supplying a relatively small
(undoubtedly due to lack of advertising) but highly loyal group of
long-suffering dry eye patients for a decade, the company was discontinued
due to lack of resources.
In 2001
and later in early 2002, Ron Link of the Surgical Eyes approached
Dr. Holly and called his attention to the newly arisen problem the
idiopathic dry eye. Sensing an opportunity where his expertise could
once again be helpful to patients, Dr. Holly joined the other eye
care professionals at Surgical Eyes. With the help of Joe Echols of
Aqueous Pharma, the former Dakryon eye drops were made available again
and with the help and co-operation of the motivated patient and doctor
members of the organization, these eye drops once again proved to
be efficacious in a conceptually new form of "clinical"
trial via Internet for the idiopathic dry eyes.
Dr.
Holly is the founder and first president of the International Society
of Dakryology as well as the Dry
Eye Institute. In 1993 he received the Lacrima Award in
Madrid, Spain for outstanding contributions to lacrimal physiology.
He is the author of one hundred and ten articles and editor of several
book treatises.
Future
Profiles to follow from Top Doctor Posters
on our Bulletin Board:
W
Trattler MD, Gregg Russell OD, Ken Minarik OD, Ophthinfo MD, James
Salz MD, Clint Hoxie OD, Tracy Lynn Swarz, OD, Donald F. Ezekiel OD,
Steven Lee OD, Sam Omar MD, Alejandro Tirado OD, Demetrian Dornic
MD, Ricardo Trigo MD, Arthur Epstein OD, Chris Marmo OD, Hollis Stavn
OD, Eirit Yonatan OD, Paul Klein OD, Robert Bard OD, Neal A. Sher
MD, Jim Dillard OD, Gregg Feinerman MD, Steven Shum OD, Richard Bursua
OD, Jason Jedlicka OD, Mark Ventocilla OD, Barrie Soloway MD, Carlton
Chan OD, Jack Miller OD, Brian Boxer Wachler MD, Ken Maller OD, Joe
B. Goldberg OD, Bruce Butts OD, Kraig Abe OD, Paul Blaze OD, Frank
Goes MD, Bill Berke OD, David L. Davidson OD, Joe B. Collins OD, James
Stevenot OD, Jeffrey Martin OD, Johnathan Christie, OD. s
I'm
sure we are all familiar with the old joke, "If
a tree falls in the woods and there is no one around,
does it make a sound?" While scholars and tree
experts have debated this subject, perhaps a more
current question would apply for eye doctors. "If
a patient is seeing 20 / 20 and they are complaining
of poor night vision, are they just being whiny?"
Those of us who see these types of patients and who
read the stories put forth by patients on Surgical
Eyes are painfully aware that these are real complaints.
From a personal perspective, there was simply no way
to quantify the types of issues that patients may
have been dealing with as a result of their surgery.
This is truly unfortunate.
