The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Lanning B. Kline, MD as chair for the 2020 year. The nation’s oldest medical specialty board, the ABO is responsible for setting high standards and developing rigorous assessments for the certification of eye physicians and surgeons in the United States. Since 1916, more than 30,000 physicians have demonstrated their knowledge and skills in ophthalmology through ABO certification.
Dr. Kline is a professor of ophthalmology and the former department chair at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During his eight-year term as a director of the ABO, he led the committee on initial certification, contributed to the continued enhancement of the oral examination, and edited hundreds of test items for board examinations.
The author of seven editions of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Review Manual, Dr. Kline is former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology and a member of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. He is also a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which presented him with the association’s Life Achievement Honor Award in 2018.
Dr. Kline graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine, where he also completed his internship. His residency training in ophthalmology was conducted at McGill University in Montreal, and he completed fellowships in neuro-ophthalmology at the Montreal Neurological Institute and at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.
Dr. Kline is board certified by the ABO and participates in the Maintenance of Certification program.