Francis I. Proctor Foundation Established - 1947
The Francis I Proctor Foundation was founded in 1947 to eradicate infectious trachoma, the second-leading cause of blindness at the time.
Our mission
All May See is dedicated to curing and preventing blindness, serious eye diseases, and visual impairment so that everyone in the world can see.
It’s hard to contemplate how valuable vision is until it’s gone. Yet, in the past 12 months, only half out of the approximately 93 million adults at high risk for vision loss in the United States have had appointments with an eye health specialist. All May See is dedicated to curing and preventing blindness, serious eye diseases, and visual impairment so that everyone in the world can see.
We do this by supporting the groundbreaking work of the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology and Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology. We leverage research, collaboration, and state-of-the-art technology to find answers, drive change, and expand access to vision care.
By fostering unprecedented collaboration between cardiovascular research, neuroscience, bioengineering, epidemiology, global health, and big data on one campus in Mission Bay, we’re able to solve complex problems for local patients and people around the world.
Science is the meeting of the minds, and the Bay area is the place where innovative ideas are made real. By partnering with industry leaders, we accelerate the development of research into life-changing treatments.
The Future of Vision
After nearly a decade – from the plans to bring the Department of Ophthalmology and the Francis I. Proctor Foundation together on the Mission Bay Campus to completion of the new core facility – the Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision is now a reality that is already making a transformative impact. The Center, which houses the world-class Koret Vision and Proctor Foundation Clinics, began to see patients in the new Mission Bay location in October 2020.
Access to renowned ophthalmologists, surgeons, optometrists, and scientists has been expanded to facilitate more of the community through 80 patient care rooms and over 45,000 square feet of clinic space. The Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision has been designed with visually impaired visitors’ needs in mind, providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all who walk through its doors. Function, equity, and comfort were all carefully incorporated by the architects.
Set to welcome more than 160,000 patient visits a year, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Center offers eye care ranging from routine to complex and multidisciplinary specialty care services. This includes advanced cataract and corneal surgery, complex glaucoma, ocular inflammatory disease, orbital disease and eye tumors, challenging retinal disorders, and neuro-ophthalmological conditions facilitated by the latest therapeutic and diagnostic equipment.
Our story
Half a century ago, UCSF clinician scientists Michael Hogan, MD, and Samuel Kimura, MD, founded That Man May See (now All May See Foundation) with the hope of one day restoring sight to the blind and eliminating eye disease. They recognized that private philanthropy could play a significant role in providing researchers with the resources they needed to get their ideas from theory to reality.
The foundation was designed to bring clinicians and laboratory scientists together to work to study specific eye diseases at a time when few such institutions existed in the world. Since 1971, we have kept true to the mission of Drs. Kimura and Hogan, helping to raise funds for research that has led to pioneering breakthroughs in areas like glaucoma, trachoma, retinoblastoma, cataract surgery, and more – all while supporting the next generation of leaders in ophthalmology.
We are so grateful to celebrate the huge achievement of fifty years of service with faculty, donors, and patients around the world. It has been our honor to play a role in transforming so many lives.
A history of making a difference
From the beginning, we’ve set the stage for transformative breakthroughs in science and patient care.
That Man May See Established - 1971
That Man May See (now All May See Foundation), a public charity, was founded in 1971 by UCSF clinician scientists, Samuel Kimura, MD, and Michael Hogan, MD, in hopes of restoring sight to the blind and eradicating eye disease.
Steven Shearing - 1970s
Steven Shearing, MD, created the innovative “Shearing Lens”, which immediately transformed cataract surgery and remains the fixation method of choice to this day.
Tom Mazzacco - 1980
Building on the success of the Shearing design, Thomas Mazzocco, MD, conceived and developed the “Mazzocco Taco”, a lens made of flexible material and requiring small incisions. This innovation led to more stable surgical wounds with less astigmatism, faster recovery of vision, and more predictable visual results.
Creig Hoyt - 1982
Creig Hoyt, MD, pioneered early surgery for infants born with congenital cataracts, introducing surgical techniques and postsurgical management that are now the standard of care. Prior to this innovation, children born with cataracts were destined for a life of blindness.
Matthew LaVail - 1993
Matthew LaVail, PhD, developed the transgenic animal models of retinal degeneration, which opened the door to numerous promising new therapies.
Trachoma Programs - 2003
In 2003, That Man May See supported the Francis I. Proctor Foundation to revitalize their trachoma programs. An award funded pilot studied distributing mass antibiotics for trachoma in Ethiopia. That work led directly to a large National Institutes of Health (NIH) community-randomized trial and then to far larger Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded trials. As of December 2021, Proctor has six NIH and four Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grants studying trachoma and mass antibiotic administrations, with one study covering approximately 30% of the country of Niger.
Jorge Alvarado - 2005
Jorge Alvarado, MD, described the basic cellular mechanisms of juvenile and adult glaucoma, pointing the way to the therapeutic innovations we see for glaucoma today.
Deepak Lamba - 2006
Deepak Lamba, PhD, has advanced methods to generate critical eye tissues from stem cells in order to develop and test new regenerative therapeutics.
Dan Schwartz - 2006
Dan Schwartz, MD, worked with Scott E. Fraser, PhD, and Jeff Fingler, PhD, (both from the California Institute of Technology) to introduce the first description of OCT angiography, a technique to image blood flow in the retina non-invasively. It is widely used clinically to characterize the blood supply to the outer retina in diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Jacque Duncan - 2007
Jacque Duncan, MD, used novel technology developed by Austin Roorda, PhD, at University of California Berkeley School of Optometry to assess photoreceptor function and form for testing new therapies.
The Augie Fund Established - 2013
October 9, 2013, marked the inception of an incredible initiative, providing much-needed vision support for vulnerable UCSF pediatric patients. Through the Augie Fund, children in need receive glasses and specialized lenses, eliminating financial strain on their families.
Eugene de Juan - 2013
Eugene de Juan, MD, has led the development of a revolutionary device to improve the delivery of sight-saving treatment for macular degeneration.
Dan Schwartz - 2017
The FDA approved the Light Adjustable Lens in 2017, which was the first adjustable intraocular lens. Dan Schwartz, MD, developed this lens with Robert Grubbs, PhD, Julia Kornfield, PhD, Chris Sandstedt, PhD, Shiao Cheng, PhD, and Jagdish Jethmalani, PhD (all from the California Institute of Technology).
Douglas Gould - 2018
Gould Syndrome was named for Douglas Gould, PhD, in recognition of his discovery of and work on a rare, multi-system disorder that frequently affects development of the eye.
Aparna Lakkaraju - 2018
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD, and her research team discovered novel drugs that safeguard the health and function of the retina and show great promise for treating and halting age-related macular degeneration.
Maxence Nachury - 2018
By studying the rare disease Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, Maxence Nachury, PhD, has uncovered the mechanisms by which the light sensing structures of the retina –the photoreceptors– protect themselves from toxic insults.
Deepak Lamba &
Jacque Duncan - 2021
Deepak Lamba, PhD, and Jacque Duncan, MD, have used in patient stem cell-derived 3D organoids to model human retinal degenerations in a dish and test CRISPR gene therapy.
Name Change - 2021
After 50 years, we have changed our name from
That Man May See to All May See Foundation.
50th Anniversary Celebration - 2022
An evening to remember. Honoring the contributions of Stephen D. McLeod, MD, Former Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco and Kathleen Rydar, President Emerita, All May See Foundation. We celebrate all those who came before dedicated to our mission of curing and preventing blindness, serious eye diseases, and visual impairment.
The Augie Fund
10th Anniversary - 2023
From humble beginnings, the Augie Fund has supplied an impressive 3,319 pairs of glasses (including contact lenses) to Bay Area children whose families face challenges in affording them.