A memorial for James Puklin, M.D., a retired Wayne State University School of Medicine professor of Ophthalmology who died May 22 in Washington, D.C., will take place at 12:15 p.m. June 14 during the Kresge Eye Institute’s annual Clinical Conference.

The memorial will be held in Jampel Auditorium, Kresge Eye Institute, 4717 St. Antoine, Detroit.
Dr. Puklin, who died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, was 78.

A retina specialist for the School of Medicine and the Kresge Eye Institute, he served as chair of WSU's Human Investigation Committee, reporting directly to the university president. The committee's six Institutional Review Boards reviewed, approved and supervises 2,500 protocols for local studies and national clinical trials in the biomedical and social sciences.

He also was selected to serve on the Medicare Evidence Development Coverage Advisory Committee for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he advised on medical procedures that may provide effective and appropriate patient outcomes and should be covered by Medicare as reasonable and necessary. He used his three terms of the advisory committee to educate physicians-in-training about the decision-making process in health care reform.

His work in diabetic retinopathy, ocular melanoma, eye disease related to HIV and macular degeneration was supported by the National Institutes of Health and other leading institutes. He published numerous articles and six book chapters on retinal eye disease and treatment.

In 2015, the Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology honored Dr. Puklin one of 22 outstanding clinical researchers and named him a Gold Fellow. Fellows serve as role models and mentors for individuals studying vision and ophthalmology research.

The family has asked that donations to the Alzheimer’s Foundation be considered. For more information, contact the DeVol Funeral Home, 2222 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20007, 202-333-6680.