Our Scientists

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UMass Chan Medical School is a clinician-scientist specializing in the cutting-edge medical and surgical treatment of complex vitreoretinal diseases. Read more ›

Dr. Punzo obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Basel Switzerland where he studied Drosophila eye development and evolution under the supervision of Dr. Walter Gehring at the Biozentrum. After completion of his Ph.D. he joined Dr. Constance Cepko at Harvard Medical School for a postdoctoral fellowship on retinal degeneration. In 2010, Dr. Punzo joined the Department of Ophthalmology at UMass Chan Medical School as a junior faculty. Read more ›

Dr. Seddon pioneered the field of epidemiology in ophthalmology and initiated studies of genetics in macular degeneration. She previously founded and directed Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Genetics Services at Harvard and Tufts in Boston. Read more ›

Dr. Lin is an ophthalmologist fellowship trained in medical retina. Dr. Lin serves as a general ophthalmologist, who provides excellent eye care for patients with multi-specialty conditions, including eyeglasses prescription, cataracts, glaucoma, dry eye, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration. Read more ›

Dr. Lee received his B.S. from the University of California, Davis in Genetics, and his Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in Genetics. Thereafter he joined the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Taylor at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School for a post-doctoral fellowship on autoimmune uveitis. Read more ›

Dr. Tian is an ophthalmologist and molecular biologist whose research programs primarily focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and improving therapeutic interventions for these conditions. Read more ›

Dr. Ding graduated Summa Cum Laude from The New England College of Optometry in 2017. She achieved the highest score in National Optometry Board Exam among over one thousand candidates in 2016. Prior to a clinical career, Ding received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Ohio University. Read more ›

Dr. Huan was trained as a computational biologist and also a statistician in genetics. She just recently moved from the Framingham Heart Study, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, to the Department of Ophthalmology at UMass Chan Medical School as a junior faculty. She has been working on genetics and genetic epidemiology projects of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases. Read more ›

Dr. Wei Zhang obtained his Ph.D. degree from Shandong University, China. He joined the Khanna Lab in November 2013. Dr. Zhangs's project involves use of multiple animal models to discover the mechanisms of CEP290 in retinal degeneration associated mutations and design appropriate therapeutic strategies in zebrafish and mice. Wei's hobbies are photography and sports.