RetinaRounds™

Career trajectories rarely follow a linear path.  As new opportunities arise, pivoting professionally or adding on new responsibilities takes courage and requires careful consideration.  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds is thrilled to welcome an academic and industry leader in our field, Dr. Caroline Baumal.  Dr. Baumal is Professor of Ophthalmology at New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center and Chief Medical Officer at Apellis Pharmaceuticals.  She is a prolific researcher, renowned educator, compassionate clinician and is now shaping the future of pharmacologic innovation.  Dr. Baumal talks about how she has navigated these professional roles and the values that have kept her motivated to continue to innovate and break barriers.

Retina Rounds is excited to welcome Dr. Devinder Chauhan, an Australian vitreoretinal specialist, innovator, and Founder & CEO of Macuject. Dr. Chauhan is pioneering the use of Artificial Intelligence to support clinical decision making in retinal disease. We’ll explore how these tools can be integrated into clinic workflows to help tailor treatment intervals, refine diagnoses, and hopefully improve patient outcomes.  

* Financial Disclosure:  Dr. Steven Schwartz is a member of the Board of Directors for Macuject

Leadership in retina can take many forms including scientific research, education, involvement in professional societies and advocacy efforts.  If you want to be a leader, how can you set yourself up for success?  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds is thrilled to welcome Dr. Michael Klufas, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College and a vitreoretinal faculty member at the world-renowned Wills Eye Hospital.  Dr. Klufas talks about how he transitioned into a role as a junior faculty member and how he was able to take advantage of opportunities to grow into a rising leader.  He provides valuable pearls for any ophthalmologist wanting to contribute to the advancement of our field. 

As part of our "Giants in Retina" series, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome Dr. Donald D’Amico, Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College.  Throughout his storied career, Dr. D’Amico has shaped the careers of countless ophthalmologists and vitreoretinal specialists.  He is an internationally recognized leader in our field having served as President of the Retina Society and Club Jules Gonin.  For his many surgical and educational contributions to our field Dr. D'Amico received the Life Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  In this podcast Dr. D’Amico talks about the people who shaped his career and the sources of inspiration that sometimes come from the most unexpected places.

In today’s episode, Retina Rounds is excited to welcome Dr. Ehsan Rahimy.  Dr. Rahimy is the Chief of Retina at Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University.  He is known as an outstanding surgeon, a perceptive clinician, a prolific researcher and a highly sought after industry collaborator.  In today’s episode, Dr. Rahimy shares his secrets for success and provides numerous pearls for ophthalmic surgeons in training and beyond!

As part of our “Giants in Retina” Series, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome a true giant in biomedical innovation, Dr. Mark Humayun.  Dr. Humayun is Professor of Ophthalmology, Co-Director of the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute and Director of the USC Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsberg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics.  Dr. Humayun is an ophthalmologist, engineer, scientist and inventor and has the distinction of being the only ophthalmologist ever to be elected a member of both the US National Academies of Medicine and Engineering.  Dr. Humayun co-invented the Argus Series retina implants and has more than 125 patents.  In 2015, for all his contributions to biomedical innovation, President Barack Obama named Dr. Humayun a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.  In today’s podcast Dr. Humayun talks about his journey to ophthalmology and biomedical innovation and provides pearls on how to bring an innovative idea to reality.

In this episode we welcome a very special guest to the Retina Rounds Podcast, Dr. Jean-Pierre Hubschman. Dr Hubschman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Horizon Surgical Systems, a company that is developing a robot-assisted ophthalmic surgery platform. In the podcast, Dr. Hubschman talks about how he reinvented his career, the challenges of developing innovative technology, and the importance of following one's passions and interests. He also discusses the advantages of robotic surgical platforms including the ability integrate multiple forms of imaging data and the rapid growth in learning that can occur when AI is leveraged. It's an insightful discussion about innovation and the future of ophthalmic surgery!

* Financial Disclosures: Dr. Schwartz is a co-founder and board member of Horizon Surgical Systems Dr. Prasad is an investor in Horizon Surgical Systems

We’re thrilled to welcome to the Retina Rounds podcast Dr. Firas Rahhal.  Dr. Rahhal has been a leader in multiple arenas of ophthalmology.  He was a former faculty member and Retina Clinic Director at the Cornell University Department of Ophthalmology.  He is currently Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, partner at the esteemed Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group in Los Angeles California and the Co-Founder and General Partner of ExSight Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early stage companies in ophthalmology and vision sciences.  In part one of our interview, Dr. Rahhal talks about the influences of his mentors, the challenges of running a large and busy retina practice and how he finds time to pursue his passions in medical innovation.  

Continuing our conversation with Dr. Omar Shakir, we are going to dive further into the details of Office Based Surgery.  My concerns, and I think the concerns of most vitreoretinal surgeons, center around patient safety.  We discuss this issue more as well as delving into topics like patient access, financial considerations and potential ethical issues around office-based surgery.  If you haven’t already, make sure to check out part 1 of our conversation in podcast 15.  

* Financial Disclosure: Dr. Shakir is an investor and consultant for iOR Partners

Is Office-Based Surgery (OBS) right for you?  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds welcomes Dr. Omar Shakir, a pioneer in office-based surgery.  Dr. Shakir is the founder of Coastal Eye Surgeons in Greenwich, Connecticut and a Clinical Instructor at Yale University.  Dr. Shakir practices as both a cataract/refractive and a vitreoretinal surgeon, which, while more common abroad, is unique in the United States.  In the podcast he talks about forging his own path to create a practice that meets his professional goals and how office-based surgery has been a paradigm shift for him and his patients. 

* Financial Disclosure: Dr. Shakir is an investor and consultant for iOR Partners