Joel Pearlman, 
MD, PhD, FASRS
Editor in Chief, Retina Times
President
Retinal Consultants Medical Group 
Sacramento, California 
Dr. Reece Landers is sitting in his usual spot 
directly in front of the speaker at the Squaw 
Valley Retina Symposium. His silver mane of 
hair is slicked back, and he is fidgeting in his 
seat next to his longtime friend, cohost, and 
co-conspirator, Rob Wendel, MD. The snow is 
gently falling outside on the beautiful Sierra 
Nevada mountains. 
All eyes are fixed on the speaker, Lee Jampol, 
MD, a world-renowned authority on uveitis, 
who is finishing up a thorough exposition 
of the difference between white dots and 
white spots. Undaunted by the complexity 
of the topic, Reece draws a parallel between 
multifocal choroiditis and punctate inner 
choroidopathy, which most of us missed, 
but he is excited about the next talk on 
diabetic retinopathy. He feels that our current 
management, sophisticated as it is, may 
not be quite right and that we all might be 
missing the point by obsessing about VEGF, 
which is just acting downstream of the real 
pathology (hypoxia).
Reece was always an out-of-the-box thinker, 
ready to challenge the status quo, always 
encouraging young creative doctors, and, in 
his gentle way, never allowing us to be blinded 
by our own underlying assumptions. He was 
perhaps the most peripatetic ophthalmologist 
since Tadini in the 18th century—serving as 
the chief of multiple retina services, working 
in private practice for a while, and traveling 
the world both teaching and learning, which 
to him were really the same thing. 
Reece invented new ways of seeing the 
retina; his multiple eponymous lenses and 
keratoprostheses have become the quotidian 
tools of our specialty. He helped pioneer 
numerous ways of treating the retina, including laser photocoagulation and fluid-air 
exchange, which we now take for granted. 
Reece encouraged a young Dr. Rob Wendel 
and his colleague, Neil Kelly, MD, to pursue 
their cure for macular holes at a time when 
such treatment was exceedingly controversial.
For nearly 6 decades, Reece trained innumerable fellows, residents, and medical students, 
creating a worldwide network of friends and 
experts. And he put on hilarious skits at the 
Squaw Valley Symposium that would be the 
pride of Kirk Packo, MD. 
Nick Ulrich, MD, a longtime colleague at 
UNC, said it best. “Of all my colleagues, 
Reece enjoyed being an ophthalmologist the 
most. He had a special passion for teaching. 
Reece tirelessly tried to figure out ways to 
improve patient care. He read every journal he 
could get his hands on. 
“Reece was never content with the conventional wisdom and never too old to try out 
something new. His green-ink emails at 
3 AM, challenging current opinions and 
creating collaborations around the globe, were 
famous. He spoke up and told the truth, even 
if it was uncomfortable. His patients adored 
him. He made UNC a unique place.” 
Jeffrey Benner, MD, recalled, “He gave me 
a chance to become a retina surgeon, and I 
am eternally grateful. But more than that, 
he taught us to challenge prevailing beliefs, 
innovate, and to strive to make things better 
for patients. Reece lived that way—throughout 
his whole career.” 
Drs. Chris Semple and Cynthia Toth added, 
“We will always carry a little bit of him 
with us.”
Dr. Landers is survived by his wife, Wendy 
Marbury, his 3 children, David, Kathleen, and 
Diana Landers, and his 5 grandchildren. For 
those of us who learned from him and loved 
him, the world of retina is so much richer for 
his contributions and irresistible enthusiasm. 
Heaven just received one of the greats.