SweetwaterNOW congratulates the Class of 2019 Rock Springs High School Hall of Fame inductees. We will feature each inductee throughout the week leading up the banquet on Saturday, September 7. Profile features are made possible by Tanner Family Dentistry.
Distinguished Alumni
Dr. Nick Mamalis was born and raised in Rock Springs, Wyoming and graduated with high honors from Rock Springs High School in 1974. He was named to the All-State Football team and was a member of the State Championship Basketball team.
College Years
Dr. Mamalis is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his BA in Biochemistry from Harvard University and his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Utah, School of Medicine.
He fulfilled a fellowship in Ophthalmic Pathology at the University of Utah and completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Loyola University Medical Center. Dr. Mamalis is currently the Director of Ophthalmic Pathology as well as the Co-Director of the Intermountain Ocular Research Center at the University of Utah.
Dr. Mamalis have published more than 200 peer review journal articles in his career. 
He is now president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).
He has been extensively involved in research regarding intraocular lenses (IOLs) which are placed into the eye following cataract surgery. He has been involved in evaluating the design, biocompatibility, and materials used in these intraocular lenses. Present research studies include the evaluation of a light adjustable intraocular lens which will allow the power of the lens to be adjusted after placement within the patient’s eye.
In addition, Dr. Mamalis has been involved in the design and evaluation of multiple different types of accommodating IOLs which will allow the patient to see at both distance and reading following cataract surgery.
Another major area of research that Dr. Mamalis is involved in is evaluating postoperative infections (endophthalmitis) as well as sterile toxic reactions following surgery which he has coined Toxic Anterior Segment Syndrome (TASS).
His Involvement with ASCRS
Through funding by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and Fight for Sight, Dr. Mamalis has established a center at the University of Utah which is involved in the analysis and prevention of outbreaks of post-operative inflammation worldwide. He is co-chairman of the ASCRS TASS Task Force.
He is Co-Director of the Ophthalmic Pathology/Research Fellowship Program for the Ophthalmology Department at the University of Utah. Dr. Mamalis is also involved in the teaching and advising of medical students, residents, and fellows. He is the Editor of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
In addition, he is a member of the Cataract Clinical Committee of the ASCRS and the ASCRS Executive Committee. He is now the President of the ASCRS.
Dr. Mamalis is a former President of the Utah Ophthalmology Society. He was given the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award in 1994 and the Senior Achievement Award in 2005. Dr. Mamalis received the Life Achievement Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2015.
He was the recipient of the Brinkhorst Medal of Honor in 2013 by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He has also given several hundred presentations at numerous meetings nationally and internationally, as well as greater than 30 invited lectures.
Dr. Mamalis has submitted and published over 200 peer review journal articles and has written multiple text books and text book chapters. He has written 30 review articles and published 70 editorials. Finally, Dr. Mamalis has produced 50 scientific videos, many of them award winning.
He is married to Mercy Mamalis and has one daughter, Christina Mamalis, MD, who is presently a senior resident in Ophthalmology.
