Jack T Holladay, MD
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Jack T. Holladay was born on 10/13/1946, while his parents were stationed at Olathe Naval Base near Kansas City, Kansas. His father went to work for Ford Motor Company and typical of many families ascending the corporate ladder, the numerous relocations meant he attended 12 schools between kindergarten and high school, plus college.
In 1961, the family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he began his sophomore year at South Oak Cliff High School and he graduated in 1964, receiving an academic and music scholarship for tuition and room at Southern Methodist University (SMU). He chose Electrical Engineering as his major and played solo trumpet with the Mustang Band along with Harry James, Jr. In 1969 he received his BS Degree in Electrical Engineering and was awarded a scholarship to graduate school. His work in the Master’s program was primarily in computer science, where he developed software for the onboard aircraft computers to defeat Soviet radar systems. He also designed night vision optical devices using early IBM programs, which represented his first exposure to the field of optics.
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In 1971, he received his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from SMU and started course work toward a Doctorate. Attending classes at Southwestern Medical School was part of the Biomedical Engineering program and this fostered an interest in the medical applications of his engineering background. As his interest grew, he decided to attend medical school. He was accepted in the first on-campus class of 32 members at The University of Texas Medical School (UTMS) in Houston in 1971. In 1974, he received his MD degree, followed by a year of research developing instrumentation for measuring the electrical charge of the eye. He then began his residency in ophthalmology in 1975 at Hermann Hospital and completed it in 1978. He was invited to join the UTMS Faculty. In addition to his teaching responsibilities and private practice he invented the Brightness Acuity Tester (BAT), an instrument that is used for testing the effects of glare on patients’ vision.
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He developed the “Holladay IOL Consultant” and “Refractive Surgery Consultant” software programs and has been active in the American Academy of Ophthalmology, serving as past Chairman of the Committee on Low Vision, Committee on Optics, Refraction and Contact Lenses, the Ethics Committee and the Committee for Ophthalmic Technology Development. He received the Honor Award in 1985, the Senior Honor Award in 1995 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. He has written over 96 scientific articles, 30 book chapters, and authored or edited 5 books and made several hundred scientific presentations. In 1986, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Commissioner of the FDA for his service on the Ophthalmic Device Panel. In 1992, he received the Binkhorst Medal Award from ASCRS. In 1995, he was honored with the Ridley Award from ESCRS. In 2001, he was the first recipient of the John Pearce Memorial Award from the United Kingdom (UKISCRS). He has served on the Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (JCRS).
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He has retired from surgery and clinical practice but continues his work in research, consulting and publishing. He resides with his wife Sharon in Bellaire, TX. He has 2 married children (Taylor and Courtney) and 6 grandchildren.
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