Northwestern Medicine residents win research awards

Northwestern Medicine Ophthalmology said on May 20 that two of its residents placed in the Chicago Ophthalmological Society’s resident research awards, adding another local result to the society’s annual competition for Chicago-area trainees. The department said Andrew Voigt, MD, PhD, won first place and Michael Drakopoulos, MD, took third place. Northwestern said the awards were announced at a Chicago Ophthalmological Society meeting on May 18. The society’s award program is open to residents and fellows from approved Chicago-area ophthalmology training programs, according to the group’s website. ### Which awards did the Northwestern residents win? Northwestern Medicine Ophthalmology said Andrew Voigt won first place and Michael Drakopoulos won third place in the Chicago Ophthalmological Society’s resident research awards. The department posted the announcement on X on May 20 and said the prizes were announced at a May 18 society meeting. The Chicago Ophthalmological Society describes the competition as the Beem-Fisher Award program. (x.com) The society says research papers submitted by Chicago-area residents and fellows are judged by a committee that designates first-, second- and third-place recipients. ### Who are Andrew Voigt and Michael Drakopoulos at Northwestern? Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine lists Andrew Voigt, MD, PhD, as a PGY3 ophthalmology resident in the class of 2027. (x.com) The same residency page lists Michael Drakopoulos, MD, as a PGY2 resident in the class of 2028. Northwestern Medicine also features Voigt in a recent research presentation on wet macular degeneration. (chicagoeyenet.org) In that presentation, the health system says Voigt’s work with Jeremy Lavine, MD, PhD, examines how macrophages may contribute to blood vessel growth and treatment resistance. ### How does the Chicago Ophthalmological Society competition work? (feinberg.northwestern.edu) The Chicago Ophthalmological Society says the Beem-Fisher competition is open to ophthalmology residents in Chicago-area approved training programs including Northwestern University, Loyola University, Rush University Medical Center, Stroger Hospital of Cook County, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The society says applicants may submit one paper per resident each year. (breakthroughsforphysicians.nm.org) The society says projects must be completed research rather than proposals and may include retrospective, prospective, original, collaborative or literature-only work. The website also says projects involving human or animal research must have institutional review board approval, with animal research required to follow Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology regulations. ### When were the 2026 entries due? (chicagoeyenet.org) The Chicago Ophthalmological Society says the 2026 competition submission deadline was 8:00 a.m. on April 29, 2026. The society’s materials say the first-place winner is invited to present a summary of the paper at the last monthly conference of the year, and that cash prizes are attached to the awards. A separate calendar listing tied to the Illinois Society of Eye Physicians & Surgeons showed a Chicago Ophthalmological Society event labeled “Beem-Fisher awards” on May 11, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (chicagoeyenet.org) CDT. Northwestern’s post said its residents’ awards were announced at a society meeting on May 18. ### What does Northwestern say about resident research? Northwestern’s ophthalmology department says its resident research curriculum is designed to teach the scientific method, critical review of literature and the framework needed to complete a research project. The department’s broader research pages say faculty and trainees work across clinical and vision-science topics. (ileyemd.org) The next public milestone in the award cycle is the first-place presentation later this year. The Chicago Ophthalmological Society says the top finisher in the Beem-Fisher competition is invited to present a summary of the winning paper at the last monthly conference of the year. (chicagoeyenet.org) (feinberg.northwestern.edu)