School of Medicine
Showing 21-40 of 115 Results
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Muhammad Najam Dar
Visiting Instructor, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioDr. Muhammad Najam Dar is affiliate researcher at Stanford University and specializing in electrophysiological signal-based ophthalmological solutions. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan, and was awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Fellowship for his doctoral research at City, University of London, United Kingdom.
With a strong interdisciplinary foundation in biomedical signal and image analysis, computer vision, and deep learning, Dr. Dar has made significant contributions to both academia and industry. His research focuses on developing cutting-edge AI-driven diagnostic tools, wearable smart device signal processing, and systemic workflow optimizations for healthcare applications. His work integrates machine learning, medical imaging, and human-centered design to advance next-generation ophthalmological and biomedical solutions.
Beyond research, Dr. Dar has extensive experience in teaching, mentorship, and academic leadership, fostering innovation in AI-driven healthcare among the next generation of engineers and scientists. His ability to bridge theoretical knowledge with real-world applications makes him an invaluable asset in advancing biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and translational research. Dr. Dar aims to become a leader in AI-driven healthcare solutions by advancing cutting-edge research, fostering industry collaborations, integrating design thinking into innovative medical technologies, mentoring and inspiring students and peers, empowering them to to drive transformative advancements in healthcare and improve lives globally. -
Houri Esmaeilkhanian
Visiting Instructor, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioDr. Esmaeilkhanian is an accomplished medical doctor who graduated from Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) in 2018. Her passion for ophthalmology ignited during her medical studies, leading her to a focused research career in this field. After earning her degree, she dedicated her efforts to serving underprivileged communities while continuing her research at the Eye and Ear Research Institute of IUMS. In 2021, she advanced to the Doheny Eye Institute at UCLA, working in Prof. Vas Sadda’s lab, where she made significant contributions to research on diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), further honing her clinical expertise. In March 2023, Dr. Esmaeilkhanian joined Byers Eye Institute, pioneering treatments for corneal injuries using innovative stem cell therapies and hydrogels. Additionally, she plays a crucial role in collaborative clinical studies involving the first FDA-approved AI device for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy impacting patient care in both the Bay Area and underserved regions.
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Muneeb A. Faiq
Basic Life Research Scientist, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioDr. Muneeb A. Faiq is a behavioral and metabolic neuroscientist and ophthalmology researcher whose work spans molecular biology, neuroimaging, and systems neuroscience. He has made several foundational contributions, including the first functional cloning of CYP1B1 in congenital glaucoma, implicating retinoic-acid signaling in Zika virus–associated microcephaly, identifying central insulin resistance as a mechanistic basis for glaucoma, and providing the first in vivo evidence for a glymphatic pathway in the optic nerve. With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and over 4,000 citations, Dr. Faiq has earned international recognition, including the Emerging Vision Scientist Award – 2019 from the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research. He is widely regarded as the pioneer and principal architect of the discipline of psychosomatic ophthalmology, a field he helped conceptualize and establish, leading to the integration of ophthalmic clinical practice with mindfulness-based and psychosomatic medicine frameworks. Dr. Faiq is currently advancing the concept of neurometabolic syntax in vision and brain function — a unifying systems-level framework that integrates genetics, metabolism, and behavior to reconceptualize ophthalmic and neurological diseases through a mechanistic and interdisciplinary lens. He has been selected for the prestigious Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Achievement Award 2026.
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Zoha Zahid Fazal
Visiting Instructor, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioZoha Zahid Fazal is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Sepah Lab at Stanford Medicine, where her work advances screening innovation and diagnostic automation for retinal degenerative diseases through cutting-edge research and artificial intelligence–driven tools. During her time at Stanford, she has collaborated across the Spencer Center for Vision Research, the Center for Digital Health, the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging, the Ocular Imaging Research & Reading Center, and the Mussallem Center for Biodesign—developing a multidisciplinary skill set at the intersection of medicine, applied coding, and computation.
Previously, as a predoctoral scholar, Zoha worked closely with the Director of the Global Health Dermatology Program at Yale School of Medicine, contributing to global training, research, advocacy, and field-based interventions addressing tropical and culturally contextual dermatologic disease. She also gained clinical and research experience through the Northwestern Medicine Adjunct Dermatology Program, supporting patient care, clinical education, and research in skin-of-color dermatology, autoimmune disease, and complex dermatopathies. Through these roles, she helped establish collaborative research initiatives linking U.S. academic centers with her home medical school in Pakistan.
Zoha earned her medical degree from Aga Khan University, graduating with honors in Community Health Sciences, and is recognized for her leadership in community service and global health research. As part of AKU’s community education efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-authored and edited 'How Not to Go Viral', a student handbook, over 1,500 copies of which were distributed to libraries across Pakistan. For her contributions to poverty alleviation and pandemic relief efforts, she was awarded the Quadragon Member of the Year Award in 2020. She has also volunteered extensively in flood-relief operations and rural medical camps across Pakistan, experiences that exposed her to the limitations of resource-constrained health systems and paper-based medical records.
Zoha’s interest in global health research and big-data analytics began early. She graduated with distinction from Cedar College, majoring in biological sciences and advanced mathematics, and spent formative summers working alongside nursing faculty and public health leaders at the institution that later became her medical school. She has since continued to build technical fluency in healthcare data analytics and research software through self-directed coursework. She served as a global research lead from Pakistan for the COVAD Collaborative, led by the NHS Foundation Trust (UK), where her work focused on patient safety, healthcare quality, and vaccine uptake among individuals with autoimmune diseases. As a medical student, she also led Gates Foundation–sponsored interventional studies aimed at improving maternal, neonatal, and child health outcomes in underserved settings.
Looking ahead, Zoha envisions a career as a clinician-scientist specializing in biomedical informatics. Her long-term goal is to design sustainable, scalable, and context-aware digital health systems for developing nations—systems that are grounded in local resources, cultural realities, and environmental constraints. Through human-centered digital health innovation, she aims to advance equitable, evidence-based care globally. -
Jen Haensel
Basic Life Research Scientist, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioI am a Research Scientist in the Roberts Vision Development & Oculomotor Lab at Stanford University’s Department of Ophthalmology, working at the intersection of vision science, neuroscience, and experimental psychology. My current research uses eye-tracking, photorefraction, and psychophysics to study oculomotor development and visual function in amblyopia, strabismus, and concussion. I also work on developing methodology to record accommodative measurements and gaze behaviour in dynamic, naturalistic settings.
I completed my PhD in Experimental Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London (UK), where I used advanced eye-tracking techniques to study the influence of postnatal experience on social gaze behaviour. Prior to joining Stanford, I also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bath (UK), developing empirical human-robot interaction studies to inform the ethical design of humanoid robots. -
Md Enamul Haque
Biostatistician 3, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
Current Role at StanfordSr. Research Data Scientist
