School of Medicine
Showing 201-300 of 324 Results
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Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc
Professor of Ophthalmology and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics and of Medicine (Immunology & Rheumatology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe have focused our research on the development of novel therapies and innovative assessment and diagnostic imaging technologies for retinal vascular and ocular inflammatory disorders, specifically diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and uveitis. Building on our initial work describing the role of hypoxia and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME), We have become interested in the biochemical mechanisms that would presumably lead to DME. During the past decade, our research has contributed to the body of evidences that defines the important role of anti-VEGF therapies in DME and AMD, as well as the role of the mTOR pathway and various interleukins in the pathogenesis of uveitis.
We have launched a productive and well-funded clinical research program while at the same time providing clinical care to patients with uveitis and retinal vascular diseases and fulfilling significant teaching and administrative assignments. We have established a number of key collaborators both within and outside the institutions. In addition, we have also established Center in Baltimore and now in Silicon Valley, which has excelled in conducting proof-of concept, early-phase multi-center clinical trials and studies, exploring the clinical disease manifestations and the efficacy of various pharmacologic agents in retinal, uveitic, and ocular inflammatory disorders. -
Ke Ning
Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Ning currently joins Dr. Yang Sun’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow at Dept. of Ophthalmology, Stanford University. Her current research interests include cilia-mediated signaling in RPE-related diseases and glaucoma. Dr. Ning received her MD at Xiamen University in China and completed her internship at Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated with Xiamen University. Her long-term research interest is to understand primary cilia roles in ocular development and how alterations in cilia-related gene expression contribute to eye diseases. Her further goal is to be a physician-scientist and to translate scientific discoveries to patient therapies. Some of her hobbies are cycling, reading, and skiing.
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Amir Norouzpour
Basic Life Research Scientist, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
Current Role at StanfordResearch Scientist
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Daniel J O'Shea
Senior Research Engineer
Senior Research Engineer, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical TrialsCurrent Research and Scholarly InterestsI study the neural mechanisms that control movement, and more broadly, how neural populations spanning interconnected brain regions perform the distributed computations that drive skilled behavior. I develop experimental and computational tools to understand the neural population dynamics that establish speed and dexterity.
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Chi Mong Christopher Or
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Or is a board-certified ophthalmologist and family medicine physician. He received advanced uveitis training through the uveitis and medical retina fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to residency, he also completed a fellowship in optical coherence tomography (OCT) research at the New England Eye Center. Dr. Or treats patients at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford Health Care and Menlo Medical Clinic in Menlo Park. He is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Or treats many eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and uveitis. He emphasizes using imaging to diagnose and monitor the progression of eye conditions.
His research interests include eye imaging methods such as OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA). Dr. Or has studied these imaging techniques for years, first as a research assistant, then as a fellow, and now as a principal investigator. He has studied using these imaging techniques for diagnosing and monitoring age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and uveitis.
He is actively involved in clinical trials for optical imaging and serves as principal investigator in clinical trials assessing different medications to treat eye diseases.
Dr. Or has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics such as optical imaging, autoimmune eye diseases, and vascular eye diseases. His research has appeared in prestigious journals including Clinical Ophthalmology, Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, Retina, the American Journal of Ophthalmology, and many other ophthalmology journals worldwide.
He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Specialists, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Dr. Or has presented his research at various national and international meeting several times. -
Daniel Palanker, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsInteractions of electric field and light with biological cells and tissues and their applications to imaging, diagnostics, therapeutics and prosthetics, primarily in ophthalmology.
Specific fields of interest:
Electronic retinal prosthesis;
Electronic enhancement of tear secretion;
Electronic control of blood vessels;
Interferometric imaging of neural signals;
Interferometric imaging of cellular physiology -
Carolyn K. Pan, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Pan is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained vitreoretinal surgeon. She focuses on retinal vascular diseases, macular degeneration, and surgical repair of retinal detachments, macular pathology, and complications from cataract surgery. She has co-authored peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from optical coherence tomography imaging to embryonic stem cells for macular degeneration.
In addition to her clinical practice, she is dedicated to the education and training of medical students, residents, and fellows. As recognition of her efforts, she received the Faculty Teaching Award in 2016 from the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University, was the Associate Residency Program Director from 2020 to 2023, and currently serves as the Residency Program Director. Her educational efforts also extend beyond the department - since 2016, she has served on the annual meeting planning committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and is currently Associate Secretary of the Annual Meeting and Chair of the Special Projects Committee.
Dr. Pan's clinical practice is mainly based at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Stanford's affiliate county hospital, where she is chief of the retina service. -
Suzann Pershing, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology
BioDr. Pershing is on the ophthalmology faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine, with an academic career blending clinical practice, teaching, research, and administration. She serves as Chief of Ophthalmology and Eye Care Services for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and as Vice Chair for Education in the Stanford Department of Ophthalmology, after five years as Program Director for the ophthalmology residency.
As an educator she seeks to bring a "precision" approach to graduate medical education, incorporating innovation and research rigor. She is committed to program diversity and inclusion and excited to innovate and implement novel approaches to ophthalmology education. Specific areas of interest include competency-based education, career pathways and career development, and leadership development, with programmatic initiatives such as Stanford Ophthalmology's 4-year research track residency program (SOAR), opportunities for resident elective scholarly activity, and efforts to develop a valuable internship program for incoming ophthalmology residents at Stanford. Dr. Pershing's active research includes efforts to enhance diversity in residency selection, using AI semi-supervised models to augment the application review process, and predictive modeling to optimize cataract surgery case selection and scheduling.
Her broader research interests focus on utilization of big data, biomedical informatics techniques, and evidence-based medicine to study clinical associations and outcomes, health care utilization, disease progression, and cost-effectiveness of ophthalmic treatment, as well as a special interest in the relationship between visual impairment and cognitive impairment. Dr. Pershing is active in big data initiatives and analysis, including collaborative projects at Stanford and serving as site PI for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) IRIS Registry analytic group at Stanford. She also serves on the American Board of Medical Specialties Database and Information Technology Advisory Committee (DITAC), the AAO Medical Information Technology Committee, and AAO Committee on Aging. Through this and her other work, she is engaged in efforts to use diverse data sources to facilitate improved quality of care, continuing certification, and practice and outcomes assessments. Dr. Pershing is also involved in health policy, including helping to develop CMS episode-based cost measures for MIPS, and she is interested in health care innovation—technology, quality, and delivery systems.
Dr. Pershing also serves as faculty advisor for the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society Stanford association, with focus on resident initiatives, and mentors both medical students and undergraduate students. -
Ehsan Rahimy
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Ehsan Rahimy specializes in the medical and surgical management of diseases affecting the retina, with a clinical expertise in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, macular hole, macular pucker/epiretinal membranes, and uveitis.
Dr. Rahimy has authored well over 100 peer-reviewed publications, numerous book chapters, as well as other non-peer reviewed literature. He presents regularly at national and international ophthalmic meetings, having contributed over 200 conference abstracts.
He is passionate about the interplay between technology and medicine, and how ongoing advancements will transform healthcare delivery in the near future. Dr. Rahimy is frequently consulted for collaborative research endeavors and advises on numerous early stage companies involved in ophthalmology, telemedicine, A.I., and other medtech innovation.
Dr. Rahimy graduated with highest distinction from the University of Michigan, followed by receiving his medical degree, with high honors, at Baylor College of Medicine. During this time, he was one of a select few junior inductees into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society. He went on to complete his ophthalmology residency at the world-renowned Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, recognized as one of the premier residency programs in the country, where he received the Pepose-Saltzman Young Investigator Research Award, Henry & Lilian Nesburn Research Award, and the Devgan Outstanding Surgical Resident Award. Afterwards, he pursued subspecialty training in vitreoretinal surgery at Wills Eye Hospital, considered the preeminent retinal fellowship program in the country, under the guidance and mentorship of many of the field's leaders. While there, he was awarded a Heed Fellowship, the Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Award, and the William B. Tasman Outstanding Fellow Award. -
Tawna L. Roberts, OD, PhD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology (Pediatric) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research efforts are funded by grants from the National Eye Institute, Department of Defense, and various foundations to study vision development in infants and young children as well as binocular vision disorders in adolescents and adults with concussions. Our focus is to identify underlying mechanisms that will inform clinical treatment approaches and ultimately leading to the prevention of strabismus, amblyopia, and binocular vision disorders.
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Jennifer Rose-Nussbaumer
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
BioJennifer Rose-Nussbaumer is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained cornea specialist at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University. Her clinical practice focuses on corneal transplant, complex cataract surgery and treatment of infectious keratitis. After completing her fellowship in Cornea and External Disease at the University of California, San Francisco, she stayed on faculty and remained there until she transitioned to Stanford in 2021. She continues to collaborate closely with the FI Proctor Foundation as an Associate Proctor Researcher.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Rose-Nussbaumer is an NIH-funded researcher who focuses on randomized clinical trials in ophthalmology. She is the PI on a UG1 grant, Descemet Endothelial Thickness Comparison Trial (DETECT), a randomized clinical trial comparing UT-DSAEK to DMEK and ripasudil versus placebo in patients with endothelial disease such as Fuchs Endothelial Dystrophy. She is also the PI on the Steroids and Cross-linking for Ulcer Treatment Trial (SCUT II), a randomized clinical trial in collaboration with Aravind Eye hospital in India and the University of Sao Paulo looking at the benefit of adjunctive topical steroids, corneal crosslinking or rose bengal photodynamic therapy in the treatment of infectious ulcers.
As a native of Northern California, she loves spending time with her family and Bernese Mountain Dog, Kenji, exploring California's natural beauty through hiking and camping. -
Aim-On Saengsirinavin
Affiliate, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioCLINICAL RESEARCH FELLOW IN MEDICAL RETINA AND UVEITIS, OPHTHALMOLOGY RESEARCH/CLINICAL TRIALS
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Steven Sanislo, MD
Clinical Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr Sanislo has over 20 years of experience in clinical and surgical practice in retinal and vitreoretinal diseases. He is the senior vitreoretinal surgeon at Stanford and maintains a large clinical practice as well as teaching ophthalmology residents and retina fellows. He also participates in clinical research for varying retinal conditions. Dr. Sanislo received ophthalmology training as a resident here at Stanford, and received vitreoretinal training as a fellow at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Research interests include treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases.
Dr. Sanislo has extensive clinical and surgical experience in the following diseases:
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Posterior uveitis / infectious and inflammatory disease of the posterior segment
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Myopic degeneration / pathologic myopia
- Macular pucker / epiretinal membranes
- Macular hole
- Repair of simple and complex retinal detachments
- Macular edema
- Retinal vascular occlusion -
Yasir Sepah
Assistant Professor (Research) of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsYasir's primary focus is on early identification of ocular diseases and objective assessment of response to therapy via biomarker (imaging and molecular) discovery and endpoints development for clinical trials. His lab is also developing and implementing protocols and methods to make decentralized clinical trials in ophthalmology viable.
Yasir is also engaged in developing low-tech, low cost and less intelligent solutions in order to improve patient's access to care. -
Mohammed Abdul Saqhlain Shaik
Temp - Non-Exempt, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioSaqhlain is a Research Assistant at the Byers Eye Institute, where he applies his expertise in data science and statistical analysis to ophthalmic research. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Hyderabad, India, and a master’s degree in Statistics - Data Science from Cal State University East Bay.
His work focuses on data analysis, management, and standardization of ophthalmic imaging data to support clinical research. He collaborates with researchers to design and execute data-driven projects, ensuring data quality control and validation. Additionally, he assists with data acquisition, statistical analysis, and streamlining research workflows to enhance efficiency in ophthalmology studies.
Saqhlain is particularly interested in leveraging data science to improve research methodologies and facilitate insights in medical imaging. -
Vikram Shankar, MD
Clinical Instructor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Shankar, MD, MPH, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained ophthalmologist at the Stanford Health Care Byers Eye Institute. He is also a clinical instructor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Shankar’s clinical focus is the medical and surgical care of cataracts and adult glaucoma, including premium lenses and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS). Dr. Shankar’s research and professional interests include ophthalmic public health, biomedical devices, and digital health. He has a particular interest in the intersection of entrepreneurship, public health, and ophthalmology, aiming to find innovative solutions that will impact millions of patients.
Dr. Shankar has published research on lung cancer metastasis to the optic nerve, pharmacologic therapies in glaucoma, and surgical outcomes with a novel glaucoma device. He has also delivered presentations nationwide on topics including screening rates for diabetic retinopathy based on insurance type and socioeconomic factors, Medicaid expansion, and health disparities.
Dr. Shankar completed a combined MD/MPH at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. He earned the Albert F. Koetter, MD Scholarship; Dean’s Research Fellowship; and Jonathan Mann Fellowship as a medical student. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He subsequently completed his fellowship in glaucoma at the Stanford Byers Eye Institute.
Dr. Shankar is the cofounder of a seed-stage ophthalmic medical device startup that aims to improve patient safety and mitigate the environmental impact of eye care worldwide.
Dr. Shankar is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. -
Ann Shue, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
Clinical Assistant Professor (By courtesy), PediatricsBio**Dr. Shue is taking new patients for glaucoma, cataracts, and adult strabismus.**
Ann Shue, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she specializes in glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology, and adult strabismus, a unique combination of subspecializations practiced by few surgeons worldwide. She is a board-certified ophthalmologist who completed fellowships in glaucoma at Yale University and pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus at Duke University. She practices at the Stanford Byers Eye Institute and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Dr. Shue loves seeing patients of all ages with eye problems big or small, including glaucoma due to any reason, glaucoma suspicion, family history of glaucoma, cataracts, strabismus (eye misalignment) or double vision from any cause, including after eye surgeries. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh and an internal medicine internship at UCSF Fresno. She holds a medical degree from University of California, Irvine and an undergraduate degree in biology from Yale University.
Dr. Shue is a member of the American Glaucoma Society, the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and the UK Paediatric Glaucoma Society. She is active in presenting at regional and national conferences. She is the author of several journal articles and recently wrote two textbook chapters on pediatric glaucoma and pediatric glaucoma surgery. -
Ruwan Silva, MD, MPhil
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
Clinical Assistant Professor (By courtesy), NeurosurgeryBioProfessor Ruwan Amila Silva, MD, MPhil is board certified and fellowship trained vitreoretinal surgeon in the department of ophthalmology at Stanford University Medical Center. He received his BA in Neurobiology from Harvard University graduating Magna cum laude with Highest Honors. He then received his Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) in Neurobiology from Cambridge University in England. Following this, he received his medical degree from Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Silva completed his ophthalmology residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the top rated eye hospital in the country. While there he was awarded the Heed Fellowship, the most prestigious national award for ophthalmology residents in the country. Dr. Silva returned to Stanford University to complete his vitreoretinal surgery fellowship where he was awarded the Ronald G. Michels Foundation Award, the nation’s highest honor for a retina surgery fellow. During his fellowship at Stanford he was also awarded the prestigious Evangelos S. Gragoudas Award by the Macula Society. Following fellowship, Dr. Silva remained at Stanford University's School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Vitreoretinal Surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology. Since 2015, he has been named one of “America’s Top Ophthalmologists” by Consumers’ Research Council of America. He was also selected as a "Top Ophthalmologist" by the International Association of Ophthalmologists.
Dr. Silva's clinical practice focuses mainly on macular degeneration and retinal vascular disease (such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusions and central serous retinopathy). Surgically, he specializes in diseases of the vitreous and retina: including repair of retinal detachments, surgery for the macula (such as treatment of epiretinal membranes and macular holes) and correction of dislocated intraocular lenses. His research interests mainly involve developing novel therapies for these diseases (http://med.stanford.edu/artificial-retina.html) and have resulted in over 50 combined peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, book chapters and national meeting presentations.
Dr. Silva is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, as well as the American Society of Retina Specialists. He is a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. -
Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH
Professor of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGlaucoma, clinical epidemiology
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Shruti Singh Kakan
Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology
BioI am a Biomedical Scientist with a Ph.D. in Translational Sciences. I worked with Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) and NOD derived mice models of autoimmune Sjögren's Disease (SjD) for Biomarker Discovery and investigated disease mechanisms of autoimmune dacryoadenitis in the Lacrimal Glands. Using RNA Sequencing and autoantibody microarrays I validated microRNA biomarkers in human subjects.
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Stephen Smith, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsRESEARCH OVERVIEW
Dr. Smith’s primary professional interest is developing solutions for unmet clinical and surgical vitreoretinal needs. Beginning in medical school, one of his primary focuses has been improving treatment outcomes in patients with retinoblastoma (RB). During his second year in medical school Dr. Smith published a manuscript on a novel technique to reduce the risk of tumor spread following intravitreal drug delivery in patients with RB. His work summarizing published data on tumor spread following intravitreal injection therapy (IVT) for RB has resulted in multiple platform presentations at national and international meetings, including an invited lecture at ARVO 2014. The results of this study influenced the growing trend toward broader acceptance of intravitreal chemotherapy in pediatric patients with treatment-resistant retinoblastoma vitreous seeds. A primary active area of research has included studying and publishing on ocular toxicity that results from the use of intravitreal melphalan and other agents for RB. This work, and subsequent publications from leaders in the field, has led to an increased awareness of ocular toxicity caused by injecting chemotherapeutic agents into the eyes of young children. This highlighted the need for toxicity data on additional chemotherapeutic agents for local delivery. To answer this question, Dr. Smith assembled an excellent group of collaborators and consultants, including internationally known experts at Bascom Palmer, Mayo Clinic, and Emory University. As a resident he secured a highly competitive career starter grant from the Knights Templar Foundation and used that funding and the expertise of his collaborators to carry out preclinical ocular toxicity studies of combination intravitreal chemotherapy for RB. His work in RB has led to a broader recognition of the challenges facing patients with RB who receive IVT and has led to a continued search for optimal local injectable therapies for patients with this disease.
INNOVATION HIGHLIGHTS
In addition to his work in retinoblastoma, Dr. Smith has been actively involved in developing technologies to improve outcomes for patients receiving intravitreal injection therapy (IVT) for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusions and more. IVT has become the most common procedure performed by retina specialists in the United States, with an estimated 6 million injections given in the United States alone in 2016. Dr. Smith has co-developed technology that simplifies and streamlines the IVT process, removing barriers to treatment and improving patient outcomes. His work in innovation covers pre-clinical and clinical development work, and has given him expertise in diverse subject areas including fundraising, intellectual property portfolio development, team building, and business administration. He is a co-founder of iRenix Medical, a biotechnology and medical device start-up company committed to improving vision through optimization of the IVT process.
Dr. Smith remains dedicated to helping improve and restore vision and quality of life in patients with vitreoretinal disease. He is currently involved in both medical device and pharmaceutical innovation, and serves as a mentor for the Stanford University Biodesign Innovation Course. -
Brian Soetikno
Resident in Ophthalmology
Affiliate, Ophthalmology Clinic and EducationBioBrian Soetikno grew up in Union City, CA. He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, where he studied biomedical optics under the mentorship of Lihong Wang, PhD. In the summer of 2013, he entered the Medical Scientist (MD/PhD) Training Program at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. He completed a PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2018 under the combined mentorship of Amani Fawzi, MD and Hao Zhang, PhD, which focused on retinal imaging. Specifically, his dissertation described advances in functional optical coherence tomography (OCT), including retinal oximetry with visible-light OCT and OCT angiography. He graduated with his MD in 2020 and joined the Stanford Ophthalmology Advance Research (SOAR) residency. Brian aspires to ultimately pursue a career in academic ophthalmology, where he hopes to combine his passion for engineering, innovation, and ocular surgery.
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Gayathri Srinivasan OD, MS
Clinical Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Srinivasan is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. Her clinical focus is in the management of concussion-related vision disorders. Dr. Srinivasan's research interests are amblyopia, strabismus, and concussion-related vision disorders. She serves as an investigator for ongoing clinical studies in the Vision Development and Oculomotor lab headed by Dr. Tawna Roberts.
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Creed Stary
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (MSD) and, by courtesy, of Ophthalmology
On Partial Leave from 06/01/2025 To 06/30/2025Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMechanisms promoting neuronal survival following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury; utilizing microRNA's to target multiple pathways to promote mitochondrial homeostasis and cell survival; anesthetic neurotoxicity; astrocyte-neuronal interaction
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Laurel Stell
Temp - Non-Exempt, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
Current Role at StanfordAnalyzing Humphrey Visual Field data to assess how HVF might be used as a primary endpoint in clinical trials for glaucoma treatments. Work with Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg.
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Yang Sun, MD, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe are interested in the role of inositol phosphatases in eye development and disease, using both animal models and human disease tissue. We are a translational laboratory seeking to understand the basic function of proteins as well as developing therapeutic strategies for clinical trials.
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Christopher N. Ta, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology
BioChristopher N. Ta, MD specializes in the diagnosis and medical treatment of cornea diseases. His areas of expertise are in the treatment of ocular infections, inflammation, dry eyes and ocular surface diseases. He has conducted numerous clinical trials toward the prevention and treatment of ocular infections. Dr. Ta also has extensive clinical experience in the treatment of ocular graft-versus host disease following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
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Geoffrey Craig Tabin, MD
Fairweather Foundation Professor
BioDr. Geoff Tabin is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Himalayan Cataract Project and a Professor of Ophthalmology and Global Medicine at Stanford University. He has published more than 45 peer-reviewed articles, two books and a dozen book chapters related to his work in ophthalmology and the developing world.
Dr. Tabin is the fourth person in the world to reach the tallest peak on each of the seven continents. His passion for mountain climbing directed him to his professional career in eye care. After summiting Mt. Everest, on one of his expeditions, he came across a Dutch team performing cataract surgery on a woman who had been needlessly blind for three years. It was then he understood his life calling.
Tabin graduated from Yale University and then earned an MA in Philosophy at Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship. From there, he took his interest in moral philosophy and health care delivery to Harvard Medical School where he earned his MD in 1985. After completing an ophthalmology residency at Brown University and a fellowship in corneal surgery in Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Tabin returned to Nepal to work with Dr. Sanduk Ruit.
Tabin and Nepalese eye surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit established the Himalayan Cataract Project in 1995 – with a vow to work to eliminate all preventable and treatable blindness from the Himalayan region in their lifetime, a goal, in Tabin’s words, “more audacious than setting out to make the first assent of the East Face of Mount Everest.” Dr. Ruit, whom the Associated Press heralded as the “god of sight” to the world’s poor, and Tabin have proven that hospital quality standards can be applied in impoverished areas devoid of electricity and clean water. Their successful approach to restoring sight and dogged perseverance has made possible what 20 years ago seemed impossible.
The Himalayan Cataract Project has since expanded beyond the Himalayas to encompass Sub-Saharan Africa as well. Dr.Tabin spends a considerable part of the year working abroad throughout the Himalayas and Sub-Saharan Africa. At Stanford his practice focus encompasses surgery and treatment of diseases of the anterior and external eye including cataract and corneal surgery. -
Daniel SW Ting
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
BioAssoc Prof Daniel Ting is a senior consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon working in the Singapore National Eye Center (SNEC), an Associate Professor with Duke-NUS Medical School and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor and an Innovation Mentor at Stanford University. He is also the Director of Singapore Health Service (SingHealth) AI Office, SNEC Chief Data and Digital Officer, and the Head of AI and Digital Innovation in Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). In 2017, Dr Ting was US-ASEAN Fulbright Scholar visiting the Johns Hopkins University Fulbright Scholar to share his expertise in AI and big data in medicine. In addition to that, his research focus span across not only on the technical aspect on machine learning, deep learning, large language models, explainable AI, privacy preserving technologies, but also safe, responsible and ethical clinical AI applications. He is also involved in several international consensus reporting guidelines such as STARD-AI, QUADAS-AI and DECIDE-AI.
To date, Daniel has published >250 publications on peer reviewed, book chapters, educational articles and conference abstracts. Of those, 45 were published in high impact journals (IF >10) such as JAMA, NEJM, Lancet, Nature Medicine, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Lancet Digital Health, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Diabetes Care, Nature Digital Medicine, Ophthalmology and etc. As of Aug 2024 (Google Scholar), his current H index: 61, i-10 index: 172 with total citations of >20,000. Dr Ting has received a total of 100M research grants, in which 20 M as a principal investigator, and 80M as co-investigators on AI and digital innovation related projects in health.
Dr Ting serves in several leadership positions at the different AI and eye societies, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology AI and Retina Ophthalmology Technology Assessment committees, and he also chairs the AI and Digital Innovation Standing Committee for the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retinal Society. He also serves in numerous advisory and editorial boards in the top-tiered digital and medical journals, including Lancet Digital Health, Frontiers in Medicine, Frontiers in Digital Health and Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology; Section Editor in British Journal of Ophthalmology and Editorial Board Member in Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Retina, Ophthalmology Science, British Journal of Ophthalmology, Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology and Retina.
For the accomplishment, Dr Ting was recognized by many top-tiered international AI and ophthalmology societies in winning many prestigious scientific awards, including Tatler Asia Gen T Award (2021), Singapore National Clinician Scientist Award (2021), Asia-Pacific Academy Ophthalmology (APAO) Nakajima Award (2021), Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retinal Society (APVRS) Ian Constable Award (2021), MICCAI OMIA Prestigious Achievement Award (2020), ARVO Bert Glaser Award for Innovative Research in Retina (2020), USA Macula Society Evangelos Gragoudas Award (2019), APAO Young Ophthalmologist’s Award (2018) and APTOS Young Innovator Award (2017).
In 2022, 2023 and 2024, he is included in the World’s Top 100 Ophthalmology Power list by the Ophthalmologists; and the World’s Top 2% Scientists by the Stanford University world ranking. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, he was consistently ranked top 3 in the deep learning domain over the past decades (2010 – 2023) by the ExpertScape. In 2024, he won the Singapore National Academy of Medicine Young Scientist Award, and also ranked the Top 100 AI Thought Leaders Worldwide with Fei Fei Li, Yan LeCun, Jensen Huang and many others by H20.ai. -
Gabriel Velez, MD, PhD
Affiliate, Department Funds
Resident in OphthalmologyBioGabriel Velez is a PGY3 ophthalmology resident at Stanford. He received his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Winona State University in 2014. He completed his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Iowa. His PhD research focused on studying the structure of the calpain-5 (CAPN5) protein and its role in the development of Neovascular Inflammatory Vitreoretinopathy (NIV), a rare blinding eye disease. His research interests include translational proteomics, retinal disease, ocular oncology, structural biology, biophysical chemistry, drug design, and bioinformatics.
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Douglas Vollrath
Professor of Genetics and, by courtesy, of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Vollrath lab works to uncover molecular mechanisms relevant to the health and pathology of the outer retina. We study metabolic and other cellular interactions between the glial-like retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and adjacent photoreceptors, with the goals of understanding the pathogenesis of photoreceptor degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, and developing therapies.
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Karen Wai, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Wai is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained vitreoretinal surgeon with Stanford Health Care Byers Eye Institute. She is also a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Wai is a retina specialist who diagnoses and treats retinal and macular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusions (blockages), and retinal tears/detachments. The retina is a tissue layer in the back of the eye. It converts light into signals that the brain then interprets as images. The macula is the part of the retina responsible for central (straight ahead) vision. Diseases of the retina and macula can cause low vision and vision loss.
Dr. Wai’s research interests include working with data from electronic health record databases to improve patient outcomes. She has researched morbidity and mortality (illness and death) rates in patients with retinal vein occlusions and retinal artery occlusions. A retinal vein occlusion is a blocked vein to the retina that can cause vision loss. A retinal artery occlusion is when an artery to the retina is blocked, which is also sometimes referred to as eye stroke. Dr. Wai has also examined the effects of systemic medications on the retina. She has won several ophthalmology awards, including the Heed Fellowship and Harvard Medical School’s Excellence in Clinical Instruction Resident Award.
Dr. Wai has published in more than 40 peer-reviewed journals, including Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, and JAMA Ophthalmology. She has presented research at meetings and conferences around the United States.
Dr. Wai is a member of the American Board of Ophthalmology. -
Grzegorz Walkiewicz
Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology
BioGrzegorz (Greg) Walkiewicz, PhD, is a neuroscientist with a strong background in retinal and neurodegenerative disease research. He completed his PhD at KU Leuven (Belgium), focusing on tau pathology and Alzheimer’s disease. His research explores the connection between brain and eye pathology, with particular interest in pTau, Aβ, and microglial activation. He has worked extensively with transgenic mouse models as well as human brain and retinal tissues. He recently joined Stanford University to investigate INPP5K-related mechanisms in retinal ganglion cell degeneration.
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Brian A. Wandell
Isaac and Madeline Stein Family Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering, of Ophthalmology and of Education
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsModels and measures of the human visual system. The brain pathways essential for reading development. Diffusion tensor imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational modeling of visual perception and brain processes. Image systems simulations of optics and sensors and image processing. Data and computation management for reproducible research.
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Sophia Y. Wang, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI use and integrate a wide variety of data sources in my research, spanning both structured and unstructured forms, including national survey datasets, health insurance claims data, patient generated online text, surgical video, and electronic health records. I investigate outcomes of treatments for glaucoma and cataract, as well as other areas of ophthalmology. My focus is on developing artificial intelligence methods to predict ophthalmology outcomes, while ensuring fairness.
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Sui Wang, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying retinal development and diseases. We employ genetic and genomic tools to explore how various retinal cell types, including neurons, glia, and the vasculature, respond to developmental cues and disease insults at the epigenomic and transcriptional levels. In addition, we investigate their interactions and collective contributions to maintain retinal integrity.
1. Investigating retinal development:
We utilize genetic tools and methods such as in vivo plasmid electroporation and CRISPR to dissect the roles of cis-regulatory elements and transcription factors in controlling retinal development.
2. Understanding diabetes-induced cell-type-specific responses in the retina:
Diabetes triggers a range of multicellular responses in the retina, such as vascular lesions, glial dysfunction, and neurodegeneration, all of which contribute to retinopathy. We delve into the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying these diabetes-induced cell-type-specific responses and the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.
3. Developing molecular tools for labeling and manipulation of specific cell types in vivo:
Cis-regulatory elements, particularly enhancers, play pivotal roles in directing tissue- and cell-type-specific expression. Our interest lies in identifying enhancers that can drive cell type-specific expression in the retina and brain. We incorporate these enhancers into plasmid or AAV-based delivery systems, enabling precise labeling and manipulation of specific cell types in vivo.
