Dr. Leonard Apt, who co-developed an inexpensive and effective antiseptic eye drop that substantially decreased the incidence of blindness in children in developing countries, died in Santa Monica on Feb. 1 after a brief illness. He was 90.
An emeritus professor of ophthalmology and a founding member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, Apt was the first physician to become board-certified in pediatrics and ophthalmology. He devoted his career to preventing blindness in children. Together with colleague Dr. Sherwin Isenberg, Apt developed povidone-iodine as a safe and effective topical antimicrobial for use on the surface of the eye. The eye drop is now used throughout the world to prepare patients for eye surgery.
At age 14, Apt entered the University of Pennsylvania and went on to graduate from there as well as from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia with honors. He trained in pediatrics, pathology and ophthalmology at Harvard, the University of Cincinnati and the National Institutes of Health. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1961 and established the first full-time Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.
Apt was co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center to Prevent Childhood Blindness, which ran a preschool vision-screening program. Over his long and productive career, he developed several diagnostic tests, including the Apt test used worldwide on newborns, invented new surgical instruments and identified new diseases.
In addition to publishing more than 300 articles that made a major impact on pediatrics and ophthalmology, he received many honors and awards, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award, the UCLA Alumni Association Award for Excellence and the UCLA Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award. To honor him, the American Academy of Pediatrics created an annual lecture named after him. In 2010, He was selected National Physician of the Year.
Apt was a passionate UCLA philanthropist and staunch supporter of eye research, the arts, athletics,student scholarships, the humanities and many other efforts across the campus. He endowed both a chair and a fellowship at UCLA Ophthalmology.
Services are set for today at 1 p.m. at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 West Centinela Ave., L.A. 90045. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, Pediatric Ophthalmology. Checks should be made payable to UCLA Foundation in memory of Dr. Leonard Apt, c/o Gail Summers, Development Office, Jules Stein Eye Institute, 100 Stein Plaza, Rm 1-124, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7000.
To read more about Dr. Apt, go here.
