Annie Moreau, M.D., an associate professor of ophthalmology in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and an oculoplastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Dean McGee Eye Institute, has been honored with the 2020 Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award.
The award, now in its 37th year, recognizes OU College of Medicine faculty members for excellence in teaching. It was established through an endowment made by the late Oklahoma City businessman Stanton L. Young. The award comes with a $15,000 cash prize, one of the largest in the nation for medical teaching excellence.
Moreau is known as a dedicated educator and mentor for students at various levels of their training. In addition to leading courses for medical and physician assistant students, she is the director of the oculoplastic fellowship, giving fellows the specialty expertise they need before they embark on their own careers. Students, residents and fellows routinely cite her as engaging and inspiring.
“We are grateful to have a faculty member like Dr. Moreau who embodies excellence in the mission of academic medicine: patient care, education and research,” said John P. Zubialde, M.D., executive dean of the OU College of Medicine. “One of her students’ letters of nomination captures her dedication to education: ‘A professor is regarded as someone who not only is a teacher, but affirms a faith in something. Dr. Moreau has affirmed all of our faith in the field and calling of medicine through her excellence and service.’”
Moreau, a native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was introduced to the piano at a young age and began her higher education in music by earning a bachelor of arts degree in piano interpretation and theory from the Music College Vincent D’Indy in Montreal, Quebec, where she also served as a piano instructor. Concurrently, she earned an undergraduate degree in health sciences, with high distinction, from College Lafleche, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. She then continued her education by earning a Doctor of Optometry degree, with high distinction, from the University of Montreal, College of Optometry, Montreal, Quebec.
In 1995, Moreau arrived in Oklahoma to work with the Chickasaw Nation in Ada as an optometrist and adjunct professor of optometry at the Carl Albert Indian Hospital. She provided eye care for tribal members, many of whom suffer the burden of diabetic retinopathy. She also taught optometry students to conduct comprehensive eye exams and to recognize diabetic retinopathy.
After working four years in Ada, Moreau secured a position as a clinical instructor and optometrist at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City and began her affiliation with the Department of Ophthalmology in the OU College of Medicine. She worked closely with ophthalmology residents during their VA rotations and realized that she wanted to pursue her own medical degree. In 2006, she earned this degree from the OU College of Medicine, followed by an internship in general surgery at OU and her residency in ophthalmology at the Dean McGee Eye Institute. She then completed a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology and ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Dean McGee Eye Institute.
Following a year as an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Boston University Medical Center and Boston Veterans Affairs Health System, she returned to Oklahoma and joined the OU College of Medicine as an assistant professor of ophthalmology.
Moreau’s academic activities are numerous. In addition to directing the oculoplastic fellowship, she is a member of the Resident Education Committee, in which she reviews residents’ milestones and progress, and she teaches in the Resident Surgical Course, providing one-on-one guidance in macrosurgical skills. She mentors medical students who are interested in ophthalmology, as well as premedical students who want to go to medical school. She is the college’s councilor for the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and she serves on the Admissions Board for the college.
Moreau has published research articles in several journals and has lectured nationally and internationally. She has received numerous honors, including being named a fellow in the American College of Surgeons and receiving an OU Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching. The Dean McGee Eye Institute named an award after her – The Annie Moreau Resident Education Award – given to fellows for their exceptional service and commitment to resident education.
Teaching is the most rewarding part of her career, Moreau said in a letter to her students in appreciation for their support of the award. “Being in a position to share the little knowledge I have has made me a better doctor and a better surgeon,” she said. “I have to thank all of you for that. Spending time with the next generation of physicians is a privilege I will never take for granted. Your decision to dedicate your life to others warms my heart and assures me that there is still good in this world.”
Moreau’s patients know her as a skilled and compassionate physician and surgeon, and she models that dedication for each student she teaches.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Moreau as the first ophthalmologist to receive the prestigious Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award,” said Gregory L. Skuta, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Dean McGee Eye Institute and chair of the OU Department of Ophthalmology. “Since her arrival at the Eye Institute as a resident and now as a beloved and revered member of the faculty, Annie Moreau has embodied humanistic qualities and an absolute devotion to education that inspires all of us to be better doctors and teachers.”
