Beebe named Janet and Bernard Becker professor

By Jim Dryden

David C. Beebe, Ph.D., has been named the new Janet and Bernard Becker Professor of Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine.

David C. Beebe

Announcement of the appointment was made by William A. Peck, M.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine.

"Endowed chairs allow us to recognize outstanding individuals and to support their important contributions to research, and David Beebe is a superb candidate for such recognition," Peck said. "But this professorship also stands as a tribute to the legacy and generosity of Bernie and Janet Becker. Dr. Becker's glaucoma research and his record as a teacher and administrator are unsurpassed, and together with Janet, the Beckers' work in the community is legendary. This professorship recognizes their commitment to education and scientific research in general, and to Washington University in particular."

The Beckers have a long history of involvement with education, the arts and social causes in St. Louis. The Becker Professorship is an endowed chair in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, one of two chairs originally instituted in 1983 in recognition of the service and leadership of Bernard Becker, M.D., professor emeritus and head of ophthalmology.

"The Beckers have been instrumental to the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences for half a century, and the professorships endowed in their names will continue to advance the cause of vision research in perpetuity," said Michael A. Kass, M.D., current head of the department and a former resident under Becker. "David Beebe's research will continue the tradition of scientific inquiry that has thrived for so long under Bernie Becker's leadership here."

Beebe came to the School of Medicine in 1995. Also a professor of cell biology and physiology, he is director of the medical school's Cataract Research Center, one of the largest groups in the world working on the biology and pathology of cataracts, the number one cause of blindness in the world. Each year, the Medicare program alone spends more than $3.4 billion on cataract surgery. It is the most common surgical procedure performed in the United States. Treatment of secondary cataracts, a condition that occurs frequently after cataract surgery, also is very common.

Beebe studies both the development of the lens and the age-related changes in the lens that may contribute to cataracts, an eye disease that most people get as they reach old age. Recent research, however, has put Beebe on the trail of a previously unacknowledged cause of cataracts.

"We know that as we age, the lens becomes more susceptible to developing cataracts," Beebe said. "But recently, our lab has found that the main cause of the most common type of cataract probably is in a different part of the eye."

In a lecture delivered as part of the official ceremony to recognize him as the Becker Professor, Beebe reported preliminary findings that a breakdown in the vitreous body -- a gel-like substance between the eye's lens and its retina -- may allow too much oxygen to come into contact with the lens. Already at risk for cataract, the aging lens is less able to resist the stress caused by the extra oxygen, and a cataract forms.

"This is a completely new concept of how cataracts form," Beebe said. "We hope to follow this line of inquiry in the years to come, and I am grateful that the Becker professorship will support this work in the future. I also am particularly grateful that my name will be associated with the names of Bernie and Janet Becker, two people whom I admire greatly."

Beebe came to Washington University after serving as a professor and chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md. Before joining the USUHS, he conducted eye research at the National Institutes of Health.

In 1966, he earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Rhode Island. He completed a master's degree in biomedical sciences at Brown University in 1969 and a doctorate in biology from the University of Virginia in 1974.

Beebe is a former president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the world's largest vision research organization. He also is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the Society for Developmental Biology and the International Society for Eye Research.

Bernard Becker headed the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine from 1953-1988. During that time, the department became internationally known both for exceptional research and teaching. Many residents who trained with Becker now serve as department heads or hold other prominent positions in academic ophthalmology throughout the country.

Janet Becker has given her time, leadership and drive as an advocate for affordable housing for low-income individuals in the St. Louis area. She helped create both the Ecumenical Housing Production Corporation and Adequate Housing for Missourians (AHM). She also created, staffed and raised funds for the Rental Assistance Loan Fund for AHM and was instrumental in creating both the Housing Resources Commission of St. Louis County and the Missouri Housing Trust Fund. Last year, she was a leader in creating trust funds for housing and health care in St. Louis.