Drs. Shaffer, Hetherington, and Hoskins: A Legacy of Innovation in Glaucoma Care

Dr. Robert N. Shaffer, Dr. John Hetherington, Jr., and Dr. H. Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., were partners specializing in glaucoma when they started Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) with a legacy gift of one million dollars from a generous patient. With the passing of Dr. Shaffer in 2007, Dr. Hetherington in 2020, and Dr. Hoskins in 2024, all three founders and former board members are now legends.

“Bob, Dunbar, and Jack were like the Three Musketeers,” recalls Thomas Brunner, president of GRF. “They were unique individuals, each with his own strengths, but there was a special synergy among them, and they brought that to every aspect of their work.”

Part old-school doctor and part intrepid scientist, Dr. Shaffer was the magnet that drew the three together when Drs. Hoskins and Hetherington joined his San Francisco practice as fellows.

Dr. Andrew Iwach, executive director for Glaucoma Center of San Francisco and chair of the GRF board, was another fellow who knew all three founders. “Dr. Shaffer placed a high value on a balanced life,” Dr. Iwach recalls. “If you worked in his practice, you had to play tennis, and if you didn’t play, Bob would make sure you had lessons.”

Drs. Hoskins and Hetherington shared Dr. Shaffer’s passion for cultivating the next generation of specialists, a tradition carried on in today’s Shaffer Research Grants. All three put the patient’s needs at the center of everything they did. And all three believed that science is essential to a cure for glaucoma. Dr. Hoskins, who became a leader for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is remembered as an incredible strategist and organizer. Dr. Hetherington’s accomplishments include innovations in childhood glaucoma, detection and diagnosis.

Honored during their lifetimes with awards from GRF and other accolades, all three would be proud that, thanks to donor support, the foundation they started is now on the brink of vision restoration breakthroughs and a cure for glaucoma. “As clinicians and scientists, they made a huge difference in so many lives, and through the foundation they created, they continue to have impact,” says Dr. Iwach. “They laid the groundwork, and we get to stand on their shoulders.”

Posted on January 7, 2025. Pictured above left to right: Drs. Shaffer, Hoskins, and Hetherington in their San Francisco office in 1989.