Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/863733
I L L I N O I S M E D I C I N E | 7 COM PROGRAM PROVIDES VISION-RESTORING RETINAL IMPLANT OBERT SELBY, A LEGALLY BLIND 54-YEAR-OLD MAN from Hazelwood, Mo., has retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, a rare, inherited condition that progressively robs sight. But with the help of an artificial retina—called the Argus II —implanted in his left eye last October at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary and turned on last November, he hoped to be able to get around more independently and safely. The Argus II consists of a miniature camera housed in a pair of glasses that converts video images into electrical impulses, which are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the retina. Jennifer Lim, MD, the Marion H. Schenk, Esq. Chair for Research of the Aging Eye and professor of ophthalmology, led the implantation surgery. "It will take a while to learn how to scan using the camera on the glasses and also figure out what the flashes of light mean," says Lim, director of retina services at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. "It's not going to be regular vision, where you can see faces and recognize small features," she says. "But it will give him more freedom and confidence in getting around and navigating through his environment." R Legally blind Missouri man Robert Selby received an artificial retina implant last fall at the College of Medicine. Jennifer Lim excitedly works with patient Robert Selby as he tests out the Argus II implant to see how it has restored some of his vision. URBANA CAMPUS WELCOMES ACTING DEAN JANET A. JOKELA ANET A. JOKELA, MD, MPH, has been appointed as the acting regional dean of the College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign effective Feb. 16, replacing Michele Mariscalco, MD, who served in the position for three years and has begun a new position in UI Health executive leadership working under the vice chancellor for health affairs, Robert Barish, MD. Jokela joined the faculty at the COM in Urbana in 2000, and she has served in multiple roles, including director for the first-year medical school course "Introduction to Human Disease," director of the internal medicine residency program, and director of continuing medical education. She also currently serves as head of the department of internal medicine in Urbana. The author of multiple peer-reviewed publications and leader of numerous regional and national presentations, Jokela also has received myriad awards, including the Teaching Excellence Award from the COM in Urbana, the Cornerstone Award from the internal medicine residency program, and the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians (ACP) Illinois Chapter Downstate Region. In April, Jokela was elected to the ACP's Board of Regents. A 2015 Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women, Jokela was one of 54 women in academic medicine from across the country selected to participate in this leadership training program. She has served as governor of the ACP Downstate Region of the Illinois Chapter, and she was elected to the ACP Board of Regents. Jokela earned her bachelor's and medical degree from the University of Minnesota, then served as an intern and resident in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital. She completed her infectious disease training at the Harvard Medical School Longwood Area Program, at Beth Israel and Brigham and Women's Hospitals, and she received an MPH from Boston University. J Janet A. Jokela P H O T O : U I C N E W S S E R V I C E S P H O T O : U I C N E W S S E R V I C E S