Eye Team says Farewell and Thank-You to Dr. Khanna

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.

During his time at the Medical School, Dr. Khanna made an incredible impact on a number of levels, but three in particular: 

• In his own lab – Dr. Khanna was extremely creative and developed mini-gene therapies to treat Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a debilitating childhood blindness disorder, as well as Stargardt Disease and Usher Syndrome.
• In the Medical School – He worked in collaboration with many scientists with whom he published numerous peer-reviewed papers and obtained NIH and private-foundation funding. He also was very active in establishing collaborations with industry.
• On a National Level – Khanna served on several committees, including Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and has been involved in developing education courses and symposia.

“It’s been my honor to get to know Dr. Khanna and learn from him during our time together, “ said Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, President of UMass Memorial Medical Group, and Senior Associate Dean for Health Strategies at UMass Chan Medical School. “I’m very proud of Dr. Khanna and all he’s been able to accomplish during his time here at the department. He’s been one of the pillars of our department and he played a key role in our department’s success and growth over the past five years.”

Dean Terrence Flotte, Dr. Claudio Punzo, Dr. Guangping Gao and PhD candidate Mohona Gupta all delivered speeches in which they praised Dr. Khanna’s extraordinary teamwork, leadership and teaching ability as key contributors to his success both in his work at the Medical School and in his future endeavors. “Dr. Khanna has been a wonderful team member – always engaged in every faculty meeting, vision seminar, and social event, and an active participant in every huddle. He was an exemplary leader and took exceptional care of his team members, winning their utmost respect and admiration.” Lab members of Dr. Khanna received certificates of excellence for their service to the department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences: Laura Moreno Leon, PhD, Instructor; Bhubanananda Sahu, PhD, Instructor; and Sydney Leitao-Pina, BS, Research Associate. They noted that Dr. Khanna was an excellent teacher who was always prepared to teach and learn. Dr. Khanna earned tenure earlier this year, an accomplishment that few achieve throughout their academic career.

Dr. Khanna thanked his collaborators, the department chair, and the Medical School Dean for their strong support during his tenure at UMass Chan Medical School. “I cannot say these three words frequent enough – support, inspiration, thank-you!” said Dr. Khanna. “Dr. Khanna is a true gentleman, scholar and professional,” said Dr. Schaal. “He made great strides for the future of eye health during his time here and we are so fortunate to have had him on our team.”