They said it couldn’t be done.  But, in 1995, Barrett Haik, MD, left the prestigious first endowed chair in ophthalmology at Tulane University – a chair that bears the name of his famous father – to tackle an impossible dream in Memphis. Fast forward 17 years, and here stands the thriving, state-of-the-art UT Hamilton Eye Institute – the house that compassion built, with Haik leading the charge.

“Our feasibility study said this was pretty much impossible – that Memphis didn’t have the kind of philanthropy that would support such an institute,” he said, but his widely renowned professional skills, high energy, personal charm and unshakeable commitment made him a lightning rod that attracted the energy and support of others who cared deeply about the institute and its mission.

The establishment of the institute, one of his proudest achievements, grew from a 50-year-old dream shared by many Memphis ophthalmologists and civic leaders – which came to fruition through great teamwork and the generosity of many individuals, groups and foundations, stresses Haik, Hamilton Professor and chair of the UTHSC Department of Ophthalmology, director of the UT Hamilton Eye Institute and chief of ophthalmology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Baptist Memorial Healthcare’s donation of the 70,000-square-foot building at 930 Madison Avenue was just the beginning. The vertically integrated institute now includes a seventh floor dedicated to research, where laboratory studies are designed to improve the quality of care. 

“We have a tremendously active research lab working on diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma and trauma-related injuries, either war-related or accidental,” Haik explained.  An expanded lab on the eight floor is next on his fundraiser agenda – a goal he hopes to achieve within three to five years.

The institute also includes an integrated eye surgery center co-sponsored by the Baptist and Methodist healthcare systems and accessible to all regional patients. It’s linked to what he calls the best telemedicine/educational audio-visual system in the country.

“We just finished updating the Freeman Auditorium, which has gone to a three-dimensional level. Surgeries in the operating room can be viewed in 3-D in the auditorium,” said Haik, who explained that three-dimensional learning seems to be much more effective than two-dimensional learning when manipulative skills, brain skills and repetitive skills are involved.

Although children’s clinics are held at the institute, in consultation and cooperation with LeBonheur and St. Jude, the institute has also established on-site surgery at St. Jude – another source of pride for Haik.

“When I arrived in Memphis, St. Jude worked with some very fine ophthalmologists, but mostly on a limited, part-time basis. Over the last 15 years, we have been able to build amazing operating rooms there for the children with eye cancer. Now we see between 15 and 20 children in the operating suite every Wednesday as they undergo therapy and monitoring of their tumors. We see thousands more in the daily clinics, where we look at side effects from chemotherapy that might affect all areas of the child’s eye.”

The Road to Memphis

It seemed inevitable from the first that Haik would pursue a career in ophthalmology, like 30 other members of his family.  As a boy, he accompanied his father on hospital rounds, visiting post-surgical cataract patients in a day when the procedure was “more adventurous,” with higher risk of complications. It was seldom attempted until the patient was legally blind. After a hospital recovery period of five to seven days, the bandages were removed, and there was a miraculous moment when the blind could see again.

Witnessing such moments inspired him to set forth on a career path illuminated with numerous awards and honors. From Centenary College and Louisiana State University, he went on to a New York residency. He served on the faculty of Cornell University Medical College and in other New York facilities before joining the Tulane University School of Medicine as professor and working in several directorial positions. In 1991, he was named the George M. Haik Sr. MD-St. Giles Foundation Professor of Pediatric and Adult Ophthalmic Oncology, the first endowed chair in ophthalmology at Tulane.

Just four years later, he was drawn to Memphis by the challenge of developing an eye center second to none. Since his arrival in 1995, the UT Health Science Center’s Department of Ophthalmology has grown from four academic faculty members to more than 40, serving in a world-class clinical care facility recognized as one of the top 10 in the United States.

Research that’s relevant

Haik’s active pursuit of research has led to ground-breaking discoveries. His early work at Oak Ridge Laboratories in both diagnostic radiology and therapeutic radiology, led to pioneering work with the first MR imaging instruments ever available. He described the MR characteristics of lesions in the eye, the brain and the orbit – publishing papers to help others.

He continues his work on radio-protective drugs initially developed to protect individuals in the military from radiation fallout, but now potentially useable to selectively protect normal tissue and minimize collateral damage while allowing radiation to damage abnormal tissue. 

He takes pride in the institute’s research in partnership with St. Jude’s efforts. “We’ve built bridges that allow us to do remarkable collaborative work based on retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer,” he said.

Retinoblastoma was the first tumor known to be hereditary, and the RB gene was the first to be cloned as a cancer gene. “We now know that the RB gene affects almost 50 percent of all other cancers in the human body, from breast cancer to numerous other malignancies. The basic science that came from a rare cancer has thus had a major impact on many more common,” he explained.

Improving the Future

Under Haik’s direction, the institute has also helped to pioneer telesurgery, enabling collaboration with centers around the world as they manage patients with childhood cancer.

Centers in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama send patient images that the institute uses to interpret the effectiveness of laser treatments, cryotherapy or other responses; institute cases are also shared remotely. “In Honduras alone, we’ve cut the death rate in half, just with simple improvements in detection of cancer,” he said.

The institute also holds grants from the Department of Defense to develop technologies for better remote assessment of patients’ condition in the field.

“It’s something truly extraordinary. You’ll be very proud to see it come out of Tennessee,” he added.

“Everything we have at the institute goes into patient care and into research. There’s no profit. Yet so many people, groups and systems have come together for the common good,” Haik marveled. “It’s one of the reasons that I’ll never go anywhere else. And I can’t imagine a better place to live and work than here in Memphis.”

Haik has two children: a son with an MBA in healthcare management and a daughter studying painting. He spends his limited leisure time being a “very bad golfer,” planning his next saltwater fishing trip and exploring scent theory with his bloodhound, Mattie.

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