The Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary (IEEI) is a center of ophthalmology and otolaryngology research and clinical practice.

LASIK surgery was invented by Gholam A. Peyman, while he served as the Professor of Ophthalmology at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary.

On October 19, 1965, new facilities for the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary were formally dedicated by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, the result of efforts by Ophthalmology department head Peter C. Kronfeld, MD, Otolaryngology department head Francis L. Lederer, MD, and Lester R. Gerber, Superintendent of the Infirmary since 1946.

Morton F. Goldberg, head of ophthalmology from 1970 to 1989, increased full-time faculty from one to 25, added numerous ophthalmic subspecialty clinics and a postresidency fellowship program, and began a residency surgical rotation in Madurai, India.

Research efforts at LIERI are supported by both private and national grant-funding agencies and by the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Dr. Beck had been Dr. Lederer's childhood physician and served as his mentor in clinical and administrative matters, as well as a leader in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

He contributed greatly to the institution and the field, including for his service during World War II, for which he was recognized by President Harry Truman.

Author of the landmark book Diseases of the Ear, Nose, and Throat, Dr. Lederer was a mentor for many in the program who became leaders in the field, including Eugene Tardy, M.D.