They Came. They Learned. They Made a Difference. They Graduated. Congratulations to Our Inaugural Class of Residents!

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!

Special thanks to our honorable guests, Dr. Terence Flotte, MD, Dean of the Medical School, Michael Gustafson, MD, President of UMass Memorial Medical Center, and Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, President of UMass Memorial Medical Group and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass Memorial Health and UMass Chan Medical School, who kicked off the graduation festivities by sharing a few words of wisdom and best wishes with our new ophthalmologists as they launch their careers.

This was followed by an excellent State of the Department Address, presented by faculty members from the Ophthalmology Department, which highlighted the many achievements of the department over the past year, including the opening of the new UMass Memorial Eye Center at Northborough Crossing, and innovations in research and in education.

After hearing from the ophthalmology team, the Educator of the Year Award was presented to our 2022 recipient, Karen Jeng-Miller, MD, MPH. The Educator of the Year Award is a very special and prestigious recognition as this person is chosen by our residents who select a teacher who has made a great impact on their education. The winner of this award is then invited to name the keynote speaker for the following year’s graduation ceremony. Past winners of this award include 2020 – Priya Janardhana, MD, who invited John Gittinger, MD, Physician and Surgeon, Mass Eye and Ear, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Medical School, and former UMass Chair; and 2021 – Benjamin Jastrzembski, MD, who invited Ajoy Vincent, MBBS, MS, FRSCS, who addressed attendees at this year’s graduation ceremony.

Dr. Vincent is a clinician-scientist working in the field of inherited retinal disorders and electrophysiology. His primary research interest is to identify novel genes in retinal dystrophies and understand underlying disease mechanisms. Dr. Vincent is the Medical Director of the Visual Electrophysiology Unit and is actively involved in teaching ophthalmology residents and fellows in the resident and fellowship training program at SickKids, The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto, Canada. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada.

To close out the day, residents were invited to partake in a few activities before being treated to lunch with their guests and faculty. Our program culminated with the long-awaited formal graduation of our beloved residents.

Congratulations to everyone who helped make this day possible from the program’s vision and inception to the past three years of constant transformations, evolutions, teaching and learning! Cheers to our graduates! We wish you well. You will always be special members of our eye team family.