News and Events

Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, FARVO, FASRS, professor, interim chair and residency program director of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and director of the Retina Service at UMass Memorial Medical Health, Worcester, Massachusetts, is the recipient of the 2023  American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Founders Award. Dr. Seddon is receiving the award for her major contributions to the advancement of vitreoretinal surgery, treatment, research, and patient care

On June 29, 2023, the UMass Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Department came together with faculty and staff to celebrate the accomplishments and promotion of the current residents, and the addition of our new residents to the team. The residents spoke about their research and other projects and their goals for the future.  A special thanks to our guest speakers, Dr. Stacy Potts, Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education, and Dr. Andrew Karson, Interim President of the Medical Group, who joined the event to share their words of wisdom and Dr. Eric Alper, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, who gave a very insightful and timely talk on the Electronic Health Record system and the advancements of AI. 

Congratulations Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, FARVO, on your election to the Academia Ophthalmologica lnternationalis (AOI)

Academia Ophthalmologica lnternationalis traces its origin back to 1975 and is currently limited to 100 members. Dr. Seddon's election as a new member will be completed at the next General Assembly Meeting in 2024 after she presents her inaugural lecture.

Colleagues and friends of Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, gathered together Texas-style at the Beechwood Hotel Monday, February 13 to bid farewell and celebrate her tenure as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and President of UMass Memorial Medical Group.

 Seven years ago, I was given the opportunity to have oversight responsibilities of the Ophthalmology Clinic. At the same time, the search for a new department chair was underway and the clinic manager was transitioning to retirement.

The UMass Memorial Eye Center team gathered Friday, December 16, for its annual holiday celebration at Apex Entertainment in Marlborough. A bit different than in past years, by popular demand the team chose to go bowling.

This past November, the UMass Eye Team was invited to join the UMass Multidisciplinary Diabetes Outreach Clinic, a volunteer clinic led by UMass vascular surgeon Dr. Tammy Nguyen.

The UMass Memorial Eye Center was recently voted the best place to receive eye care in Central Massachusetts.

On Sunday, September 18, UMass Memorial Eye Center employees and their families gathered for its annual Family Fun Day at Dean Park in Shrewsbury. Significant others, children, babies and even our fur babies were present for this potluck offering.

UMass Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences was happy to host aspiring medical students from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and the CUNY School of Medicine in New York City. The visiting student doctors are participating in Diversity for HIM (Diversity for Healthcare, Innovation, and Medicine) at UMass Chan this summer.

On June 24, our inaugural class of residents graduated from our new Ophthalmology Residency program! This was a very proud day for our department as we watched two outstanding physicians complete this program following three years of very hard work. Sincere congratulations are extended to our graduates, Soraiya Thura, MD, and Saad Al-Kadhi, MD, MS!

I am delighted to share with you our new UMass Insight Newsletter, Summer 2022 edition. Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM

On Friday, June 3^rd, the UMass Ophthalmology residents attended the New England Ophthalmological Society (NEOS) meeting at the Hotel Commonwealth in Boston.

The JFDP is designed to accelerate the academic and professional development of junior faculty and provides a foundation for the success of junior faculty. To nurture and cultivate junior faculty, Dr. Schaal as the Chair, encouraged Drs. Huan, Jeng-Miller and Tian to apply JFDP last fall to advance their career through a program targeted and tailored to the specific needs.

The annual UMass Ophthalmology ARVO Vision Seminar was held in person with students, postgraduates and faculties presenting research topics that were presented at the annual ARVO meeting. The topics ranged from basic science, including rAAV mediated gene therapy approaches, to applied clinical science and computational science, to better clinical management and prediction of disease diagnostics.

Bo Tian, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, was awarded the grant from Worcester Foundation, for her project on “Gene therapy of age-related macular degeneration with optimized CRISPR/Cas9 system” during the 2022 cycle.

On Tuesday, March 15, Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass Memorial Health and UMass Chan Medical School, and President, UMass Memorial Medical Group, welcomed almost 100 guests to the UMass Memorial Eye Center’s grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration.

“I embrace this role and I am humbled. Serving on the board of trustees is a priceless opportunity to help shape the future of academic ophthalmology,” said Dr. Schaal, chair and professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences. “Teaching the next generation of physicians and scientists is my greatest privilege.”

Tianxiao Huan, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Retina and the Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence, were awarded a Pilot Project Program grant from the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, UMass Chan Medical School, for their project on “Dissecting optical coherence tomography features for age-related macular degeneration”.

The Eye Center team bid farewell to two valuable employees, Dr. Huan Mills and Anita Amin, during a staff luncheon on Tuesday, December 14. Staff gathered in social distance fashion on-site and on zoom to share personal sentiments of Anita and Dr. Mills and their many contributions to the Eye Center.

I am delighted to share with you our new UMass InSight Newsletter, Winter 2022 edition. Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM

The pavilion at Polar Park was filled with nothing but joy, happiness and laughter when the Eye Center Team gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the past five years. It was indeed a beautiful sight to see after two long and tedious years, and the blue, sunny skies over the field offered hope for the future.

On Thursday, November 4, members of the Eye Team gathered virtually with medical students and student researchers from UMass Chan Medical School and across the country for the Second Annual Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Open House.

Last week, members of the UMass Memorial Eye Center attended the Worcester Women’s Leadership Conference held by the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. UMass Memorial serves as one of the lead sponsors of this incredible, inspirational day, which feeds the hearts and souls of our women leaders, and encourages them to learn, develop and grow.

Each year, the team at UMass Memorial Eye Center gathers to thoughtfully fill dozens of mugs with delicious chocolates and handwritten notes of thanks from Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, President of UMass Memorial Medical Group and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

As one of the most diverse departments within the UMass Memorial Health system, the physicians and researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences have first-hand knowledge of the various gender, race, ethnic and age biases that exist in the workplace from both patients and peers alike.

The 785^th New England Ophthalmic Society meeting (NEOS) presented an exciting opportunity for UMASS residents to learn more about our field of medicine and network with leaders of our profession.

It was a perfect day for baseball in mid-September. The batter hesitantly approached the plate and gazed out into the open field. He looked the first pitch off -- common for rookies.

On behalf of the Ophthalmology Residency Program, we will be having a Quality Conference related to Patient Safety on October 29th from 8 AM – 9 AM. Dr. Luna will be leading the session.

Karen Jeng-Miller, MD, MPH graduated from Princeton University with an AB in Chemistry and certificates in Engineering Biology, Materials Science and Engineering, and Spanish Language and Culture. She obtained an MPH in International Health at Boston University School of Public Health, where she was inducted into the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

Six UMass Memorial Health employees worked on town houses on Harrison Street in Worcester with Habitat for Humanity. The group said they rely heavily on volunteers and this year they haven't had many due to the pandemic. Doctors helped pour concrete to make landing steps and also worked inside.

Dozens of Eye Team members from the UMass Memorial Eye Center and the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School gathered together for a team celebration Sunday, August 29 at Dean Park in Shrewsbury.

Friends, colleagues and members of leadership gathered to say farewell to well-respected tenured faculty member, scientist, Hemant Khanna, PhD, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School.

This academic year, the UMass Eye Center has officially welcomed two residents for each year of their newly formed residency program, totaling eight residents. Our residents come from across the country and abroad, including Georgia, California, Virginia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Cairo, Egypt. 

Michelle Cheng shows that inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the retina can promote inflammation by increasing the expression of cell adehesion molecules that enhance extravasation of immune cells from the vasculature. In a paper published in Human Gene Therapy she shows that rAAV mediated expression of a VEGF drug causes retinal vasculitis.

The lab of Haijiang Lin, MD, PhD, and Bo Tian, MD, PhD, from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School, collaborated with Ganging Gao, PhD, and Phillip W. L. Tai, PhD, at Horae Gene Therapy Center to expand the development and application of gene therapy in a variety of ocular diseases, including glaucoma, cornea and retina diseases, etc.

On June 25, residents and faculty joined together for the UMass Memorial Eye Center’s second Residents’ Day program, marking the end of the academic year.

I am delighted to share with you our new UMass InSight newsletter, summer 2021 edition.

Listening to patients is important in providing the best care we can. Our Eye Center has been doing just that with excellent results.

In June, the team from UMass Memorial Eye Center held a half-day strategic retreat to discuss the future trajectory of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial disease of unclear etiology. We previously proposed that metabolic adaptations in photoreceptors (PRs) play a role in disease progression. Here we show that the metabolic changes we induced in photoreceptors to cause AMD to not require HK2-mediated aerobic glycolysis to cause AMD-like pathologies in mouse. The data suggest that changes in the glucose lactate exchange between the retinal-pigmented epithelium and the photoreceptors are not what causes AMD in humans.

A Pilot Proteomic Study to Identify New Therapeutic Targets of Age-related Macular Degeneration

Dr. Claudio Punzo awarded a Pilot Project Program grant from the Center for Clinical and Translational Science for his project on “Testing siRNA therapeutics for the treatment of Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)”. Age-related Macular Degeneration is one of the leading causes for visual impairment in the elderly.

Samuel Leeman bids farewell this week after serving for 3 years with the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at UMass Chan Medical School.

It’s a match! The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass Memorial Medical Center and the UMass Chan Medical School welcomes two exceptional candidates to its Ophthalmology Residency Program.

My name is Brian Gibbs and I was recently recruited to serve as Vice President and Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer for UMass Memorial Health Care.

Eye team celebrates the end of 2020 with the first Virtual Eye Ball. With over 100 participants from 58 households over 3 continents (America, Europe, and Africa).

Laura Moreno-Leon, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has won the prestigious Horae Gene Therapy Center Postdoctoral Research Fellowship award. This award will help Dr. Moreno-Leon continue her studies on understanding the molecular underpinnings of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a debilitating inherited blindness disorder due to the death of our light-sensing neurons called photoreceptors. 

We would like to congratulate Dr. Bonaldi for attaining her Fellowship with the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO). To qualify for fellowship, individuals are evaluated against the highest standards of professional competence. The FAAO letters after one’s name signifies the doctor or researcher has met the rigorous qualifications for fellowship.

A virtual open house event was held for faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences to meet students interested in helping with upcoming research projects. Attended by more than 20 students, including medical students at UMASS, several undergraduate students and even a couple talented high school students, both faculty and students were able to introduce themselves and mention a little bit about their research interests. 

Caregivers and researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass Memorial Health Care and the UMass Chan Medical School are dedicated to preserving and improving the vision of our community members.

The mission of the Ophthalmology Residency Program is to train diverse, innovative and problem-solving clinicians, educators, scholars and leaders in a supportive, scholarly and collegial environment. Our program prepares the next generation of ophthalmologists to value scholarship, compassion and the ethical practice of medicine.

UMass Memorial Health Care has announced that it is partnering with a health company in Israel to co-develop a new paradigm designed to prevent avoidable blindness and save lives for high-risk patients.

Your health is our top priority — now and always. We’re enhancing our already high standards to ensure the safety of all our patients and caregivers. This video highlights the many safe care processes at the hospitals and community clinics of UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Memorial Medical Group. Trust that you are safe with UMass Memorial.

Macular degeneration is degrading Chip Goehring’s eyesight, but it has not diminished his vision for supporting research that may one day help to cure the most common cause of blindness in people over the age of 60.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School and the Department of Ophthalmology, Soroka University Medical Center Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel held a virtual conference to discuss COVID-19 pandemic experiences in academic settings.

The Individual Investigator Research Grant application of Dr. Hemant Khanna, Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School, has been selected for funding by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The funding decisions are made through a rigorous review process of the Executive Scientific Advisory Board Committee, which consists of the field’s leading researchers.

The year 2020 held significant meaning and high expectations for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. What started off as a joyous celebration of the Year of the Eye – with the completion of the first year of their residency program and anticipation of a new clinic location in Northborough – quickly shifted focus to all things COVID-19 and efforts to keep our community members and caregivers safe.

Ophthalmology Residency Program’s Inaugural Virtual Residents’ Day was held on the morning of June 12^th, 2020. This event was originally going to take place at the Medical School where faculty, staff, and community members, could gather and highlight the past year of educational activities of our residents Dr. Saad Al-Kadhi and Dr. Soraiya Thura.

The UMass Memorial Board of Trustees and I commend you on the dedication and empathy you’ve shown to your patients and colleagues during this crisis. We know the daily sacrifices you’ve been making and couldn’t be prouder. The Eye Team rocks!

Hemant Khanna, PhD Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School has been appointed to serve on the Diseases and Pathophysiology of the Visual System (DPVS) Study Section. Dr. Khanna’s term runs from July 2020 to June 2024.

Ms. Ribeiro will be joining the Eye Team as a Manager of Ambulatory and Procedural Services at the Eye Center. She has a rich professional background including operations optimization in both auto factories and print-mail facilities, complex budgeting and financial analysis, almost ten years of medical office management in a multi-site practice and also experience in academic administration.

On May 18th 2020, Eye Center embarked on PHASE 1 operations while implementing new protocols to keep patients and employees safe during COVID-19 pandemic.

The main cause for blindness in the elderly worldwide is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). What causes AMD remains unknown. The high metabolic demands of photoreceptors are thought to contribute to disease pathogenesis, yet whether photoreceptor metabolism differs in individuals with AMD has not been determined.

The BrightFocus Foundation awarded Dr. Claudio Punzo a grant for his research into understanding how smoking contributes to Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Eye Team continues to diligently see and take care of emergency patients in the Eye Center Hahnemann clinic. Elective patients are seen remotely using telehealth resources. During times of crisis, the team spirit remains high. Eye team created a video to share tips for self-care with the community. The video became popular on social media and was mentioned on the local TV news.

Firas Kassira, OD, graduated from George Mason University with a BS in biology and obtained his OD degree from the New England College of Optometry with clinical honors.

Dear Patients,
If you’re experiencing a non-emergency eye problem, don’t come directly to the Eye Center as we are currently not accepting walk in patients. Please call 508-334-0930 and ask to speak with the Eye Center on-call physician. We’ll assess your eye problem to determine if you need to come in for care, or if we can treat you using virtual medicine technology.

Darlene Bocash-Winn, Eye Center clinic manager completed 3 years of productive service at the Eye Center. Under her leadership, the Eye Team was named “Sweet 16”, three years in a row as one of the top functioning innovative team in the UMass Memorial Healthcare system. Eye Team won Innovators of the Year Award twice, in 2017 and in 2019.

Eye team members, front desk people, technicians, physicians, optometrists, researchers, marketing people, space design people, students, residents, administrators and patients came together to brainstorm and design the Dream Eye Center.

The Arbinger Institute was founded in 1979 by Dr. C. Terry Warner, the scholar who solved the central problem at the heart of the human sciences: the problem of self-deception. That work revealed two distinct mindsets from which people and organizations operate—a self-focused inward mindset and an others-inclusive outward mindset—and the path to sustainably changing mindset and results. 

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School held the third Eye to Eye Conference in January 2020 at the Albert Sherman Research Building.

Christopher Teng MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Yale University School of Medicine and the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Director of the Glaucoma Service and Glaucoma Fellowship was our Vision Seminar’s first speaker in 2020.

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, was presented with the Communicator of the Month – Shout Out Award by the UMass Memorial Marketing and Communications Department for the month of January.

On December 18, 2019 the UMass Memorial senior leadership team announced the 2019 Innovators of the Year Award recipients. This award recognizes teams from across the health care system for their outstanding contributions in achieving True North goals by successfully implementing caregiver ideas.

Our patients, community and caregivers can all be very grateful for your commitments to excellence and exceptional teamwork that have resulted in many outstanding improvements over the last several years. You’re simply amazing!

The UMass Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences is proud to announce that starting January 10^th, we will be hosting Grand Rounds from 7 AM - 8 AM at the Eye Center, 281 Lincoln St, Worcester, MA 01605.

Clinicians, scientists, caregivers, administrators and learners gathered together to celebrate the holiday season at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester.

Andrew Lam, M.D., is a retinal surgeon and award-winning author of three books: Saving Sight, an Amazon bestseller about his surgical career, Two Sons of China, a novel of WWII that won a Foreword Reviews' Book of Year Award in 2014, and his latest novel, Repentance, based on the history of the famed Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team of WWII.

On Monday, November 4, 2019, UMass Memorial Health Care held its first health care convention that brought together referring physicians and advanced practice providers from the community representing more than a dozen clinics and services.

Dr. Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, presented the Joseph B. Walsh, MD, Memorial Retina Lecture at the Department of Ophthalmology, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai

Candy may have been involved, but the UMass Memorial Eye Center played no tricks when they treated visitors to their Eyes to the Past presentation at the Lamar Soutter Library at the UMass Chan Medical School.

They say “good things come in threes,” and that’s certainly the case with the UMass Memorial Eye Center’s Innovators of the Year history! For the third year in a row, the Eye Center has won a coveted spot as a member of the Innovators of the Year’s Sweet 16! 

The newly established residency program at the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences attracted more than 400 applications. Top candidates were selected to interview. 

Judy E. Kim, MD is an internationally well-known vitreoretinal specialist and a Professor of Ophthalmology with tenure at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Kim was the honorable guest speaker of the October Vision Seminar and discussed the interesting topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in ophthalmology. 

The Eye Team, headed by clinical photographer Katlyn Champagne, created an original video showing some of their original ideas in enhancing patients’ care in 2019. The UMass Memorial Eye Center idea board theme is: Star Wars.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. The AAO is a global community of 32,000 medical doctors, which protect sight and empower lives by setting the standards for ophthalmic education and advocating for our patients and the public.

The Ophthalmology Residency Program at UMass recently introduced a brand new, state-of-the-art surgical and medical simulator to the Department. After an orientation and training session in July, the Residents have now started to use the surgical simulators as often as weekly for clinical and surgical skills practice.

Jennifer Lim, MD, the Marion H. Schenk Chair Professor of Ophthalmology, and the director of the Retina Service, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, was the honorable first Vision Seminar guest for the new academic year. 

The UMass Chan Medical School has licensed the exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy product candidates for the treatment of Leber Congenital Amaurosis type 10 (LCA10) to IVERIC bio, Inc. 

Eye Team families got together on Sunday morning at Dean Park in Shrewsbury to celebrate the end of summer. Eye team members brought along their loved ones: spouses, children, significant others, and pets to share a fun memorable morning together. It was a terrific team-building event. 

The Ophthalmology residency program at UMass was approved in April 2019 and the inaugural class of residents, Dr. Soraiya Thura and Dr. Saad Al-Kadhi started their residency training program in July 2019. 

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass Memorial Medical Center, was recently appointed as chair of the UMass Memorial Medical Group Board of Governors by the UMass Memorial Health Care Board of Trustees. 

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School is pleased to welcome inaugural class of ophthalmology residents. 

Dr. Schaal was invited to give a keynote talk “An Eye on Leadership and Transformation” in an academic conference focused on professional development of women in medicine and science at Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. 

Several members of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School participated in the ARVO 2019 annual meeting from April 28-May 3, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We are always taught to look ahead, keep progressing, set goals and reach them. You all know that I personally love stretch goals, crazy dreams, steep challenges, and big future plans. But sometimes, it is also important and healthy to stop for a (short) while, and take a few moments to look back and reflect upon the path we walked upon together.

The fourth annual Multicultural Women’s Health Summit took place on Saturday June 15th at the Albert Sherman Center. Members of the academic health science community who are dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women who live and work in Central Massachusetts presented talks focused on women’s health.

The Eye Team celebrated being included in the Sweet 16 Finalists for the UMass Memorial Healthcare Innovators of the Year Award second year in a row.

Dr. Omar Helmy served as a research coordinator in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences between 2016 and 2019. Here are his heartfelt words at the farewell party.

Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Retina and Director of the Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, was inducted as a member into the celebrated American Ophthalmological Society (AOS) for her distinguished contributions to the fields of ophthalmology, retina and macular degeneration. 

The 19th Women’s Faculty Awards Luncheon honored women in science and health care for achievements throughout their careers. Faculty were recognized for early career achievement, clinical service, mentoring, education and science.

The Eye Team’s Spring Retreat was all about teamwork and stepping up our standards of respect.

Looking at the UMass Memorial Eye Center (no pun intended!), I see a team that has developed into a highly effective group of caregivers. It’s an accomplishment that has made you exemplary no matter the challenge — whether it’s onboarding new team members, serving your many patients as you grow, or working across the many sites you’ve expanded to.

Dr. Juan Ding, OD, PhD led a project to establish and improve a novel optometry clinic at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) building of the UMass campus. She worked on this project as part of the Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) at UMass Chan Medical School, mentored by Dr. Sheri Keitz. Manisha Anand, a certified ophthalmic assistant at the Eye Center, helped Dr. Ding on this project as part of earning her Green Belt.

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, is focused on improving the way diabetic retinopathy is diagnosed in patients. As she explained in a new Voices of UMassMed podcast, diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss in people with diabetes, and early detection can prevent blindness. 

Several members of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences will be presenting their research at the 2019 Annual meeting of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) from April 28-May 3.

The Department of Ophthalmology at UMass is proud to announce the beginning of our newly Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved Ophthalmology Residency Program. “We are committed to exceptional resident education,” the Director of Medical Education for the department, Misha Faustina, M.D., FACS stated.

Dr. Haijiang Lin and Dr. Bo Tian have been awarded a competitive grant from BrightFocus, a prestigious research foundation. As part of this grant, investigators will study the molecular mechanism of the progression of age related macular degeneration (AMD).

Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned academic cornea specialist, was April’s Vision Seminar guest speaker. Dr. Colby serves as Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Chicago, where she is the Louis Block Professor. 

Aviel Hadad, M.D., M.P.H. enjoyed the last 3 months in a research rotation at the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School, as part of the UMass Ben Gurion exchange program.  Dr. Hadad is originally from Kibbutz Keramim in southern Israel. 

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School kicked off spring with our distinguished vision seminar speaker Dr. Raju V.S. Rajala, PhD, M.G. McCool Chair in Ophthalmology and Professor of Physiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. 

Dr. Seddon presented a special research seminar entitled: Mechanisms and Etiology of Macular Degeneration: Nature, Nurture and Targets for Therapies”, in which she summarized decades of her original clinical epidemiological research focused on identifying environmental and genetic factors that contribute to the development of most common disease that affects vision in the developed world, macular Degeneration. 

There are two types of photoreceptors: rods (responsible for vision at low light levels) and cones (responsible for vision at higher light levels, as well as fine visual detail and color vision). Dr. Punzo’s research is focused on establishing a gene therapy to delay cone death in Retinitis pigmentosa.

When most people think of the word “virus,” they often relate it to infections or diseases. The sole purpose of a virus is to attack and infect a normal cell, use it to replicate, and then kill it. Some examples include the flu virus and the deadly Ebola virus. 

Michael E Boulton, the Susan and Dowd Ritter/RPB Endowed Chair and Professor in Ophthalmology Research, University of Alabama, former Head of the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK, was the honorable guest speaker of January’s Vision Seminar.

At this time of year when family and gratitude are foremost in our minds and in our holiday celebrations, I humbly urge you to take a moment to reflect on the unique qualities of physician/patient relationships. Our patients come to us seeking good health, comfort and expertise.

The Eye Team celebrated 2018, a year of much progress and many achievements, at the Worcester Art Museum. Dr. Shlomit Schaal, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences summarized the highlights of 2018.

Mark Johnson, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan was the honorable guest speaker of November’s Vision Seminar.

The week of November 5-9, 2018 and eventful week at the Eye Center. All the staff celebrated “Technician week”, for all the Ophthalmic Technicians in the department. 

Ten scholars of the 2020 Cohort of Harvard’s prestigious Masters Program in Healthcare Management visited UMass Memorial Healthcare system to learn about Lean visual management system. 

The Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt is a comprehensive principle based lean leadership program. The program focuses on the design and implementation of principle based systems, anchored in desired behaviors, and the use of Lean tools and methods to drive UMMHC. 

The UMass Memorial Eye Center was proud to participate in this year's Teddy Bear Clinic at the University Campus on September 29, 2018. Justine Grier, OD, Manisha Anand, and Nishtha Khanna welcomed hundreds of pediatric patients. 

The Eye Team participated in the UMass Walk for the Cure. The team members walked together 5 miles to honor cancer survivors. 

The Eye Team, headed by clinical photographer Katlyn Champagne, created an original video showing some of their original ideas in enhancing patient care. The chosen theme was: Star Wars. The Eye Team won the Innovators of the Year Award in 2017 and team members are determined to win the award in 2018 as well.

Joan Miller, MD, FARVO, the David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School was the Vision Seminar distinguished speaker in September 2018. 

The department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences held the first Rapid Improvement session (Kaizen event) entitled:  “Operational Excellence at the Eye Center: Achieving Alignment and Enabling Innovation”. 

In just two years' time as the department chair of ophthalmology at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Dr. Shlomit Schaal has done about as much as a medical chair might hope to accomplish during a career. 

Working in the Eye Center offered me more than I could have hoped for this summer. Assigned to two research projects to advance, I thought that I would strictly be recruiting patients and taking retinal photos to be analyzed.

The Eye Team celebrated two beloved members of the marketing team, Peggy Thrappas and Kate Wood, and thanked them for their significant contributions to the marketing efforts of UMass Memorial Eye Center. 

Dr. Dan Yoon graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College with a BA in Biology and obtained his MD from New York University School of Medicine. 

The UMass Memorial Eye Center continues to expand its clinical capabilities with the arrival of Pediatric Ophthalmologist Suzanne Johnston, MD, MPH, of Boston Children’s Hospital in July.

Dr. Grier has recently joined the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UMass as an optometrist and faculty member. 

Members of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School participated in the ARVO 2018 annual meeting from April 29-May 3, 2018 in Hawaii. 

The JFDP is designed to accelerate the academic and professional development of junior faculty. Sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs, the year-long program is an intensive professional development experience for junior faculty designed to empower them and facilitate their success in academic medicine.

Members of the Eye Team actively participated in the annual Multicultural Women’s Health Summit, which took place at UMass Chan Medical School on Saturday, June 16th.

Laura Flynn (Director of Performance, Learning & Education) & Pauline Huie (Sr. Organization Development Specialist), from the Organization & People Development team (OPD), facilitated the Standards of Respects workshop to the Eye Team at Hahnemann Clinic.

Vision Seminar guest speaker, Lucian Del Priore, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Yale University and chief of ophthalmology at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), summarized decades of basic bench research and advanced clinical research in the field of stem cell transplantation.

It is with great admiration and pride that I have watched the growth and success of the Department of Ophthalmology and the UMass Memorial Eye Center over the past couple of years. A new dynamism and energy has been instilled which, I believe is directly attributable to the influence of Dr. Shlomit Schaal, the Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences hosted a Spring Retreat at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston, MA. During the retreat, Dr. Schaal, department chair, summarized several key milestones that were successfully achieved by the Eye Team, including doubling patient volumes at the...

Dr. Juan Ding (OD, PhD) and Manisha Anand (Ophthalmic Technician) of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences presented a poster at the 2nd Annual Diabetes Day hosted by the Diabetes center of Excellence (DCOE) at UMass Chan Medical School.

Henry J. Kaplan MD, FACS, was April’s Vision Seminar guest speaker. He summarized the work he has been doing over the past decade with collaborators at the University of Louisville, and other universities across the nation.

The Eye Center was featured on UMass Memorial Healthcare’s “Everyone Everyday” Campaign, which highlights teams that have increased their efficiency.

Dr. Eric Dickson invited the members of the Eye Team for a special dinner to celebrate their winning of the Innovators of the Year Award.

On April 2nd, Dr. Schaal announced a new additional location for UMass Eye Center. “I am happy to announce that we have opened this week another location for UMass Memorial Eye Center.

In the United States there are 89 chairs of ophthalmology departments. Of these, seven are women, four of whom have vitreoretinal training. These four, were recently profiled by the journal Retina Today (March 2018). Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences UMass Chan Medical School was interviewed as one of the four women leaders.

David Hinkle, MD, served 3.5 years at UMass Eye Center. Dr. Hinkle was the Ambulatory Physician Leader for the Eye Clinic, and was the busiest clinician on faculty.

Haijiang Lin M.D., Ph.D, a clinician-scientist concentrating on the field of retinal diseases is the Director of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Translational Research Center.

Ophthotech collaborates with UMass Chan Medical School on novel technology for next-generation gene delivery technology and novel gene therapies for ophthalmic diseases.

The Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) is an organization dedicated to research and education in ophthalmology. It is the voice of academic ophthalmology in the United States.

Dr. Shlomit Schaal and Dr. Hemant Khanna have been awarded a competitive grant from The Macula Society. The grant funds are supported by Regeneron. As part of this grant, the investigators

Dr. Zegans is a Professor of Surgery and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Dartmouth College. He currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Dartmouth College.

The last visitor of the day to the Eye Center on January 31st was a very special person: the president of the academic medical center, Mr. Patrick Muldoon, FACHE, who retired from his position on that same day.

Dr. Thiran Jayasundera, Associate Professor at the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan was the Vision Seminar honorable speaker for the month of January.

On December 15, 2017 the UMass Memorial senior leadership team announced the 2017 Innovators of the Year Award recipients.

I am exceptionally proud of the accomplishments that our caregivers from the UMass Memorial Eye Center have achieved this past year. It has been a year marked with growth and transformation for the Eye Center.

The second Eye to Eye Conference took place at the Albert Sherman Research Building at UMass Chan Medical School, and brought together ophthalmologists from UMass Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and optometrists from Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS ) in the Worcester area.

Dozens of physicians, care givers, UMass memorial employees, and friends gathered at the Eye Center after hours to acknowledge Dr. Asdourian’s superb service and prominent contribution to Ophthalmology at UMass.

Dr. Shlomit Schaal, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Dr. Luanne Thorndyke, Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at UMass Chan Medical School were recently named as honorary members of the Argentinean Women's Medical Society (SAMMED).

Luanne Thorndyke, MD, vice provost for faculty affairs and professor of medicine, and Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, chair and professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences, served as keynote speakers at the Conference of Women Healthcare Professionals in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On Thursday October 19, 2017 the Vision Seminar Series was very pleased to host the guest speaker, Sayon Roy Ph.D., who is a world-renowned scientist in the field of diabetic retinopathy.

UMass Memorial Healthcare employees again celebrated people and teams working toward True North at the Hahnemann campus. Co-lead by Dr. Schaal and Dr. Luna, The Eye Center presented the Lean Green Belt project "Efficiency improvement of turnover time in the operating room".

New research from scientists at UMass Chan Medical School suggests varying blood flow in the retina may enable clinicians to earlier identify patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Juan Ding, OD, PhD, has recently joined the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UMass as an optometrist and faculty member.

The BrightFocus Foundation awarded Dr. Claudio Punzo and his collaborator, Dr. Rahul Kanadia, a grant for his research into the cause of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Oh, what fun! On September 27, 2017, on his last full day of clinic, Dr. George Asdourian was surprised by the entire staff at the UMass Memorial Eye Center with a wonderful lunch celebration.

Michael Volkert, PhD (Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems) and Hemant Khanna, PhD (Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences) of UMass Chan Medical School have been awarded.

The future is looking Epic at UMass Memorial Eye Center. Today we celebrate our new patient care enhancing software system, “Epic Kaleidoscope”.

On Thursday September 21, 2017 the Vision Seminar Series was very pleased to host the guest speaker, Demetrious Vavvas M.D., Ph.D., who is a world-renowned retina surgeon and a clinician-scientist.

Hemant Khanna, PhD and colleagues have published a study in the journal Human Gene Therapy            

Hemant Khanna, PhD is the editor of an ebook entitled “Molecular Bases of Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Retina”.

Hemant Khanna, PhD has been awarded the renewal of his NIH-RO1 grant entitled “Function of ciliary disease protein retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR)”.

UMass Memorial employees celebrated people and teams working toward True North at the Hahnemann campus. On 7/19/17 recent innovations, initiatives, projects, and ideas across the Medical Center were showcased.

Lolita Petit et al., show how development of photoreceptor outer segments influence AAV infectivity of rods. The data indicates that rods and cones compete for AAV access. Furthermore, the data indicates that the presence of an outer segemnt for rods greatly increases AAV infectivity.

The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia has announced that Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, professor and chair of ophthalmology & visual services, has been named a fellow in the class of 2017- 2018.

UMass Memorial Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences has recently acquired the latest technology for performing advanced cataract surgeries.

June's honorable guest speaker was Dr. Emily Chew, a world-renowned medical retina expert. Dr. Chew is the deputy director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications and the deputy clinical director at the National Eye Institute.

Three of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences faculty were recently promoted to Associated Professor rank.

Dr. Hemant Khanna (UMass Chan Medical School) and Dr. Mahesh Shivanna [Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) University, School of Optometry] have been awarded a collaborative Special Intramural grant from the MCPHS University.

The Vision Seminar Series debut on Thursday, May 18, 2017 was the first mini-symposia with speakers who presented their research at the annual 2017 ARVO.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School was awarded an educational grant of $10,000 by Regeneron.

The transformation of the Eye Center was featured at the UMass Memorial Alignment to True North event. Managers of the health system convened together to learn about ways to better align health services to UMass Memorial True North values.

The UMass Memorial Eye Center celebrated Yellow Belt graduation for all faculty and staff. Mr. Patrick Muldoon, president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, was the honorable guest speaker at the event.

Dr. Priya Janardhana, Dr. Shlomit Schaal, and Ms. Darlene Bocash-Winn participated in the annual Multicultural Women’s Health Summit held at the UMass Chan Medical School on Saturday.

Misha Faustina, M.D., FACS will be joining the UMass faculty to help launch the Oculoplastics Service and the Ophthalmolgy Residency Program. Dr. Faustina is a graduate of Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee.

The UMass Chan Medical School (UMMS) looks forward with great anticipation to the ongoing growth and maturation of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, under the leadership of Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, our dynamic new Chair.

Dr. Max Rosen and Dr. Shlomit Schaal presented the inaugural PACE prize at the Worcester Art Museum during the Spring Social Event organized by UMass Memorial Medical Group. 

Dr. Schaal was invited by Dr. Dan Lasser, Chair of Family Medicine, to present a talk entitled: “The Eye as a Window for Early Diagnosis of Systemic Diseases”. 

The Vision Seminar was very pleased to host Jeffrey S. Heier, M.D., the Co-President and Medical Director, Director of the Vitreoretinal Service, and Director of Retina Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston (OCB), as the honorable guest speaker for March. 

On Monday, March 6, 2017 the students presented their projects at the 2nd Annual Capstone Project Presentation Day. 

UMass retina surgeons were among the first retina surgeons in the nation to perform complex retina cases using the novel Alcon NGenuity 3D viewing system. 

Darlene Bocash-Winn started her career in ophthalmology at Boston University School of Medicine Ophthalmic Technology Program. After graduation, she earned her C.O.M.T. (Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist) from the Joint Commission of Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology. 

On Thursday February 16, 2017 the Vision Seminar Series was very pleased to host its first international guest speaker, Shadi Safuri M.D., Ph.D., who is currently an ophthalmology resident at the

On Wednesday February 8, 2017, Dr. Gabriel Luna was the guest speaker for The Quinsigamond Dermatological Society Meeting organized by the Division of Dermatology at UMass Memorial Health Care, Hahnemann Campus.

Faculty members of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences met with the faculty members of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) to discuss advances and innovations in eye care. 

On Thursday January 19, 2017 Dr. Hemant Khanna highlighted critical roadblocks in designing gene augmentation therapy for X-linked retinal degeneration due to RPGR mutations.

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, announces the launch of a new Open Access Clinic for patients needing timely access to an experienced, high quality ophthalmologist.

You are receiving this first edition of the UMass Insight (UMI) newsletter, because of your valuable support of our Department’s mission. In this new quarterly newsletter, we highlight events and progress within the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School.

The publishing company Springer has announced that a new book edited by Dr. Shlomit Schaal and Dr. Henry Kaplan has been published. 

November’s vision seminar attracted more than 50 people. The crowd was diverse, and included academic clinical and research faculty from the 

UMass Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences invited local community ophthalmologist of Worcester and surrounding areas for a reception last Thursday, November 10th at the Beechwood Hotel.

A new technology advancement OCT machine (Optical Coherence Tomography) finally becomes part of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Massachusetts.

On Friday October 21, 2016 Dr. Priya Janardhana gave grand rounds on “Uveitis in Children” to the Pediatric and Internal Medicine Department.

Dr. Manas Biswal from the University of Florida presented research on a new mouse model for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Dr. Shlomit Schaal led the retina poster tour at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual International Meeting in Chicago, IL. Together with Dr. Pauline Merrill from

At the October 11, 2016 Endocrine Grand Rounds, the Diabetes Center of Excellence (DCOE) was privileged to host Dr. Shlomit Schaal, the new head of the UMMHC/UMMS Ophthalmology Department.

On Friday September 30th, 2016 several members of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences team headed to Boston for the New England Ophthalmological Society's’ 27th annual meeting.

On Thursday September 15, 2016 Dr. David Hinkle presented key novel finds associated with Drug/Vaccine induced Uveitis part of the UMass Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Vision Seminar Series.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences has officially acquired ERG (electroretinogram) machine. The machine will be utilized in the Retina service and will be the first and only machine in the Worcester area.

Dr. Hemant Khanna will head to Japan to talk about his laboratory’s investigations on understanding the pathogenesis of severe retinal degenerative diseases.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences is working on developing a non-invasive system for the early and accurate diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences is proud to welcome Haijiang Lin, M.D., Ph.D. as a faculty member. Dr. Lin is an ophthalmologist fellowship trained in medical retina.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School launches a NEW Vision Seminar Series that is open to the public.