James P. Gills, M.D., is founder and director of St. Luke's Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  Internationally respected as a cataract surgeon, Dr. Gills has performed more cataract extractions with lens implantations than anyone else in the world. He has pioneered many advancements in the field of ophthalmology to make cataract surgery safer and easier. As a world-renowned ophthalmologist, Dr. Gills has received innumerable medical and educational awards,  highlighted by his 1994-2004 listings in The Best Doctors in America.      Dr. Gills is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of South Florida and was named one of the best Ophthalmologists in America in 1996 by ophthalmic academic leaders nationwide.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Eye Surgeons, the Board of Visitors at Duke University Medical Center, and the Advisory Board of Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins University.  Listed in Marquis' Who's Who in America, Dr. Gills was Entrepreneur of the Year 1990 for the State of Florida, received the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame Award in 1993, and was given the Tampa Bay Ethics Award from the University of Tampa in 1995.  In 1996 he was awarded the prestigious Innovators Award by his colleagues in the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.  In 2000 he was presented with the Florida Enterprise Medal by the Merchants Association of Florida and was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Golda Meir / Kent Jewish Center in Clearwater and Free Enterpriser of the Year by the Florida Council on Economic Education.  In 2001 The Salvation Army presented Dr. Gills their prestigious "Others" Award in honor of his lifelong commitment to service and caring. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Gills' alma mater, presented their University Distinguished Achievement Award to him in 2003. In that same year, Dr. Gills was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Board of Directors of the Florida Sports Foundation.  In 2004, Dr. Gills was invited to join the prestigious Florida Council of 100, an advisory committee reporting directly to the governor on various aspects of Florida's public policy affecting the quality of life and the economic well-being of all Floridians.  In 2007,   Dr. Gills was selected to receive the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award, the highest honor bestowed by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While Dr. Gills has many accomplishments and varied interests, his primary focus is to restore physical vision to patients and to bring spiritual enlightenment through his life.  Guided by his strong and enduring faith in Jesus Christ, he seeks to encourage and comfort the patients who come to St. Luke's and to share his faith whenever possible.  It was through sharing his insights with patients that he initially began writing on Christian topics.  An avid student of the Bible for many years, he now has authored eighteen books on Christian living, with over seven million copies in print.  With the exception of the Bible, Dr. Gills' books are the most widely requested books in the U.S. prison system.  They have been supplied to over 2,000 prisons and jails, including every death row facility in the nation.  In addition, Dr. Gills has published more than 191 medical articles and has authored or coauthored nine medical reference textbooks.  Six of those books were bestsellers at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meetings. As an ultra-distance athlete, Dr. Gills participated in forty-six marathons, including eighteen Boston marathons and fourteen   100-mile mountain runs.  In addition, he completed five Ironman Triathlons in Hawaii and holds the record for completing six Double Ironman Triathlons, each within the thirty-six hour maximum time frame. Dr. Gills has served on the National Board of Directors of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in 1991 was the first recipient of their Tom Landry Award. Married in 1962, Dr. Gills and his wife, Heather, have raised two children, Shea and Pit.  Shea Gills Grundy, a former attorney, now full-time mom, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Emory University Law School.  She and husband, Shane Grundy, M.D., presented the Gills with their first grandchildren - twins, Maggie and Braddock.  They have since been joined by Jimmy Gills and Lily Grace.  The Gills' son, J. Pit Gills, M.D., ophthalmologist, received his medical degree from Duke University Medical Center and in 2001 joined the St. Luke's staff.  "Dr. Pit" and his wife, Joy, are the proud parents of Pitzer and Parker.