School of Medicine


Showing 201-289 of 289 Results

  • Suzann Pershing, MD

    Suzann Pershing, MD

    Associate 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

    Ehsan Rahimy

    Adjunct Clinical Assistant 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

    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.

  • Jennifer Rose-Nussbaumer

    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 a UG1 grant, 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.

  • Daniel Rubin

    Daniel Rubin

    Professor of Biomedical Data Science, of Radiology (Integrative Biomedical Imaging Informatics at Stanford), of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics Research) and, by courtesy, of Ophthalmology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interest is imaging informatics--ways computers can work with images to leverage their rich information content and to help physicians use images to guide personalized care. Work in our lab thus lies at the intersection of biomedical informatics and imaging science.

  • Steven Sanislo, MD

    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 clincal reasearch for varying retinal conditions. Dr. Sanislo recieved ophthalmology training as a resident here at Stanford, and recieved 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

    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.

  • Ann Shue, MD

    Ann Shue, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
    Clinical Assistant Professor (By courtesy), Pediatrics

    Bio**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

    Ruwan Silva, MD, MPhil

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology

    BioProfessor 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

    Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH

    Professor of Ophthalmology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGlaucoma, clinical epidemiology

  • Stephen Smith, MD

    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

    Brian Soetikno

    Postdoctoral Medical Fellow, Ophthalmology
    Resident in Ophthalmology

    BioBrian 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.

  • Gayathri Srinivasan OD, MS

    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.

  • Creed Stary

    Creed Stary

    Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (Adult MSD) and, by courtesy, of Ophthalmology

    Current 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

  • Yang Sun, MD, PhD

    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.

  • Christopher N. Ta, MD

    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.

  • Geoffrey Craig Tabin, MD

    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.

  • Gabriel Velez, MD, PhD

    Gabriel Velez, MD, PhD

    Resident in Ophthalmology

    Current Role at StanfordResident Physician

  • Douglas Vollrath

    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.

  • Brian A. Wandell

    Brian A. Wandell

    Isaac and Madeline Stein Family Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering, of Ophthalmology and at the Graduate School 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.

  • Sophia Y. Wang, MD, MS

    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.

  • Sui Wang, PhD

    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.

  • Rain Runxia Wen

    Rain Runxia Wen

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology

    BioRain Runxia Wen obtained her B.Sc. (Hons) in biology in 2012, and her Ph.D. degree in cell and developmental biology in 2018. She joined the Goldberg Lab in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University in 2019. She is currently developing epigenetic tools to promote neuroregeneration, especially retinal ganglion cell, and optic nerve regeneration.

  • Julian Wolf MD, MS

    Julian Wolf MD, MS

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology

    BioDr. Julian Wolf M.D., M.S. is a clinician-scientist, ophthalmologist, and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University. Dr. Wolf engages in translational research with the goal of finding new therapies for blinding eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. His interests include combining cutting-edge omics technology, systems biology, and artificial intelligence to assess the mechanisms of aging and disease of the human eye that he validates in animal and in vitro models.

    Dr. Wolf graduated medical school in Germany and started his ophthalmology residency training at the University of Freiburg, where he was awarded the Henning Zügel Foundation Award for excellence in research. He identified a new therapeutic target for neovascular age-related macular degeneration and developed a web resource (https://www.eye-transcriptome.com) that allows scientists to explore his data covering gene expression profiles of human eye diseases. For his work, he was awarded the prestigious Helmholtz Research Award of the German Society of Ophthalmology.

    As a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University, Dr. Wolf developed computational methods that integrate liquid biopsy proteomics, single cell transcriptomics, and artificial intelligence to investigate aging and disease mechanisms at the cell level in living patients (Wolf et al., Cell, 2023). For his work, he was awarded the Research Award of the VitreoRetinal Surgery Foundation. Dr. Wolf graduated with a Master of Science in Translational Research and Applied Medicine from Stanford University. Together with world-class scientists, industry leaders, and successful entrepreneurs, he developed strategies how his scientific discoveries in the laboratory could one day improve his patients' lives.

    Dr. Wolf has published 38 peer-reviewed manuscripts, among them first-authorships in Cell, BBA Molecular Basis of Disease, and Genomics.

  • Albert Y. Wu, MD, PhD, FACS

    Albert Y. Wu, MD, PhD, FACS

    Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy translational research focuses on using autologous stem cells to recreate a patient’s ocular tissues for potential transplantation. We are generating tissue from induced pluripotent stem cells to treat limbal stem cell deficiency in patients who are bilaterally blind. By applying my background in molecular and cellular biology, stem cell biology, oculoplastic surgery, I hope to make regenerative medicine a reality for those suffering from orbital and ocular disease.

  • George Yang

    George Yang

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology

    BioGeorge Ming YANG is a 2nd-year Postdoc scholar at Stanford Ophthalmology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Ophthalmology in 2022 at Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. Before that, he got a Bachelor of Clinical Medicine (B.Med) in the Department of Clinical Medicine, at Taishan Medical University (currently Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), China, in 2017.

    Under the guidance of Prof. Wai Ching Lam, Prof. Kwok-Fai So, and Dr.Amy Lo, he mainly focuses on the mechanism studies and investigation of potential therapeutic targets of age-related macular degeneration and retinal degeneration in vitro and in vivo at Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong.

    His research interests and projects also extend to pharmaceutical and screening of the neuroprotection and optic nerve regeneration strategies in glaucoma under Dr.Yang Hu's supervision. He also has been leading a SPARK Program in Translational Research at Stanford University to promote Coph-NMNAT2 gene therapy into clinical use.

    He has published 18 peer-reviewed articles as a first/co-first author in such journals, with 4 on-going projects in his postdoctoral study. He has been a peer reviewer for 22 journals including The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific, Theranostics, Cell & Bioscience, Journal of Clinical Medicine, and Stem Cell Research & Therapy. His study was funded by the National Student’s Platform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (No.201510439107).

    In addition to his research, he has been serving as a guest journal editor for 3 journals, including Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Biomedicines, and Cell Transplantation while pursuing his Ph.D. and Postdoctoral studies.

    His research is recognized by the field and he was awarded the National Scholarship of China (Top 0.5%), the National Endeavor Scholarship of China (Top 1%), the Outstanding Graduate Award (Undergraduate GPA ranking 1/50 in class and 36/827 in the department of clinical medicine), Postgraduate Scholarship for MPhil and PhD studies, YS and Christabel Lung Postgraduate Scholarship, Mary Sun Medical Scholarship (Two most preeminent MPhil/Ph.D. students in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine awarded).

    He is dedicated to coaching high-performance teams & and individuals. He has been a program leader for the Stanford Graduate Summer Research Program and mentored 7 postgraduates. He has been a research mentor at Stanford Ophthalmology for two years and mentored high school, college, and PhD students from domestically and overseas. Additionally, he is a sports fan with a Stanford Intramural Championship (Boat Racing). He enjoys the sport's passion and team spirit as a captain.

  • Shuai Yang

    Shuai Yang

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Ophthalmology

    BioDr. Yang obtained doctorate degree in Ophthalmology at 2017 in Tongji University, Shanghai, China. Afterwards, He works as an eye doctor in Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital. His clinial and experimantal interest is retinal disease. In June 2023, he joined Prof. Hartnett's lab to conduct postdoctoral research in neovascularization-related retinal diseases.

  • Charles Yu MD

    Charles Yu MD

    Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCorneal opacity is a leading cause of blindness. Cornea transplantation is at high risk of rejection when there is pre-existing vascularization of the cornea and in pediatric patients. Cornea transplant shortage remains a worldwide problem with millions on waitlists. Our laboratory is developing multiple strategies for treatment of corneal blindness. We are testing advanced materials and designs for keratoprostheses with the goal of reducing complications and easing surgical implantation. We are also developing intraocular electronic display prostheses for bypassing cornea opacity, a novel strategy that could allow for high quality vision without corneal clarity.