Seattle Culture
Top Docs ’10 Profiles: Russell Van Gelder
By Elaine Porterfield December 31, 1969
Russell Van Gelder, M.D., Ph.D.
Specialty: Ophthalmology
Practice: UW Medicine Eye Institute at Harborview
Hospital affiliations: Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center
Medical degree: Stanford University School of Medicine
How did you decide to specialize in ophthalmology?
I really came around to the eye late in medical school, thanks to a roommate in medical school who went into oncology. He was a year ahead of me. He did a rotation in ophthalmology. He came in and said, “It’s too late for me but it’s not too late for you.” Once I did the rotation, on the second day I thought, “This is what I want to do.” Our ability to actually fix this very delicate organ is just remarkable.
What’s so fascinating about the eye?
The precision of the eye, the incredible physics of what the eye does, the neuroscience of the retina. It’s one of the most beautiful and complex structures in the brain, and it puts it all together to create this incredible sense of vision. It really is such a worthwhile area.
Originally published in July 2010
Follow Us
Molbak’s Returns
Popular store launches community hub for gardening
Molbak’s has launched a new community initiative called Green Phoenix Collaborative at Molbak’s, which will transform the former retail site into a community hub for all things gardening. The collaborative will feature programs, classes, and events.
Historic Cornish College Building For Sale
Kerry Hall was the original home of college founder Nellie Cornish
The historic Kerry Hall building, at 710 E. Roy St. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, was built in 1921 and was the home of Nellie Cornish, who founded the arts college in 1914 and ran it for 25 years. The college was formed in the building and has occupied it since then.
Seattle: Again The Place To Be
Seattle nears pre-pandemic visitor levels in impressive turnaround
Visit Seattle released preliminary figures for 2023 at its annual meeting Wednesday, and found that the region hosted 37.8 million visitors last year, an 8.9% increase from 2022. That’s just 10% less than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.