Andrew Lam (ophthalmologist)

Andrew Lam (born 1976) is an American retinal surgeon and author.[1] He is currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.[2] Lam is the author of three books: Saving Sight, Two Sons of China, and Repentance.

Background

Lam was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was raised in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated from Springfield High School in 1994.[3] In 1998, he graduated summa cum laude in history from Yale University,[4] where he studied military and Chinese history and was mentored by Professor Jonathan Spence.

Lam earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2002. He subsequently completed his ophthalmology residency and retina fellowship at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. He has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on vitreoretinal diseases and has served as a co-investigator for several national clinical trials.[5][6] He is a scientific reviewer for Retina: The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases. Lam currently practices with New England Retina Consultants, P.C., in Springfield, Massachusetts and at Baystate Medical Center, the western medical campus of Tufts University School of Medicine[7] and a regional campus of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Books

Saving Sight

Lam’s first book, Saving Sight: An eye surgeon’s look at life behind the mask and the heroes who changed the way we see, was released by Irie Books in May 2013.[2] The book provides a behind-the-scenes look at how eye surgeons perform cataract and LASIK surgery, treat macular degeneration, repair retinal detachments, approach eye trauma, and handle many other sight-threatening diseases.[8] The author blends his experiences performing modern-day surgery with profiles of medical innovators whose inventions shaped the field of ophthalmology, including: Harold Ridley, Charles Kelman, Charles Schepens, Arnall Patz, and Judah Folkman. Louis Braille is also a subject of the book.[9] Saving Sight became an Amazon bestseller and won Honorable Mention awards at the 2013 New England[10][11] and London Book Festivals.[12] It was also a Finalist in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.[13]

Two Sons of China

Lam’s first novel, Two Sons of China, was published by Bondfire Books in December 2013.[14] The book is set in China during the Second World War and is based on the history of the Dixie Mission, in which a group of Americans were sent to Yenan in 1944 to evaluate Mao Zedong’s Communist forces.[3] American Foreign Service Officers John S. Service and John Paton Davies, as well as Colonel David D. Barrett, are historical characters in the book.[15] Two Sons of China was a Gold Medal Winner in the 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards[16] and won Foreword Reviews' 2014 Book of the Year Award (military fiction).[17] It also won the Chinese American Librarians Association's 2014 Best Book Award (fiction)[18] and received Honorable Mention awards at the 2014 New England[19] and London Book Festivals.[20]

Repentance

Lam's second novel, Repentance, was published by Tiny Fox Press in 2019.[21] Repentance is a Japanese American, World War II family drama that is based on the history of the 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States), a group of Nisei soldiers that became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. Repentance won the 2020 Independent Press Award for historical fiction,[22] the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Award (historical fiction),[23] and was a "Must Read" Finalist for the 2020 Massachusetts Book Award.[24]

In May 2014, Lam was named one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under 40 (Massachusetts).[25] His writing has appeared in The New York Times,[26] The Washington Post,[27] and The Dallas Morning News.[28] He has been a featured commentator for PBS NewsHour[29] and New England Public Radio.

Lam has served as a board member of the 80-20 Initiative, a national, non-partisan organization seeking to promote equal opportunity for Asian-Americans, and is a trustee of Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. In 2017, Dr. Lam received a NextGen Leadership Award from the Committee of 100.

References
  1. "Lam’s latest novel is WWII story of friendship". by Hope E. Tremblay, Longmeadow News, December 2, 2013.
  2. "Book Review: Saving Sight" Archived April 24, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. By William Tasman, EyeNet magazine
  3. Yosh Golden. "Storyteller with Springfield ties". Illinois Times, 6 March 2014.
  4. Golden, Yosh. "Storyteller with Springfield ties." Illinois Times, March 6, 2014.
  5. Lam A, Bunya VY, Piltz JR. “Visual Field Loss in Patients With Glaucoma Who Have Asymmetric Peripapillary Focal Arteriolar Narrowing.” Archives of Ophthalmology 2002; 120: 1494-1497.
  6. Lam A, Sambursky RP, Maguire JI. “Measurement of Scleral Thickness in Uveal Effusion Syndrome.” American Journal of Ophthalmology 2005; 140(2): 329-331.
  7. Kelliher, Judith. “’Saving Sight’ blends memoir with medical history to share ‘amazing stories of discovery’.” Springfield Republican, July 10, 2013.
  8. "Book Bag: Two Sons of China". GazetteNet.
  9. “Surgeon's ‘Saving Sight’ Profiles the Great Heroes of Ophthalmology and the Innovations that have Returned Sight to the Blind.” Boston Globe, June 5, 2013.
  10. 2013 New England Book Festival. (biography/autobiography category)
  11. 2013 London Book Festival. (biography/autobiography category)
  12. "Baystate Surgeon’s Saving Sight wins prestigious book awards" The Longmeadow Newsroom on January 6, 2014.
  13. 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. (memoir and biography/autobiography categories)"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Volume Businesses – Noted Eye Surgeon Andrew Lam Shows He Has the Write Stuff". By GEORGE O’BRIEN Healthcare News.
  15. Kelliher, Judith. “Longmeadow Surgeon Pens World War II Novel." Boston Herald, February 23, 2014.
  16. 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards
  17. 2014 Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award
  18. 2014 Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award
  19. 2014 New England Book Festival. (general fiction category)
  20. 2014 London Book Festival. (general fiction category)
  21. Urban, Cori. “Heroism of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II subject of new novel." Republican, April 25, 2019.
  25. BusinessWest 40 Under 40, 2014
  26. “White Students Unfair Advantage in Admissions.” The New York Times, January 30, 2017.
  27. “Why do doctors choose a $2000 cure when a $50 one is just as good?” The Washington Post, December 10, 2015.
  28. “The 442nd: America's Most Decorated Sons” The Dallas Morning News, April 28, 2019.
  29. “Should Affirmative Action be based on Socioeconomic Status?” PBS NewsHour, March 31, 2017.
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