Bio

Thomas A. Albini, MD is a physician educator in the department of ophthalmology at the University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Princeton University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed an ophthalmology residency at Doheny Eye Institute of the University of Southern California. He then completed a uveitis clinical and research fellowship at Doheny Eye Institute and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Cullen Eye Institute of the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Albini has worked at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute on the uveitis and vitreoretinal services since 2006 where he currently serves as Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology. He is a member of numerous professional and honorary societies, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Specialists, The Retina Society, the Macula Society, the American Uveitis Society and the International Uveitis Study Group. He served as president of the Vit Buckle Society from 2014 to 2018. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Society of Retina Specialists’ web site from 2011 to 2015. Dr. Albini has received numerous awards including an Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a Senior Achievement Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed articles on clinical and experimental topics in vitreoretinal disease and uveitis. His current research focuses on diagnostics and therapy for uveitis and the consequences of unregulated stem cell therapy for retinal disease. Dr. Albini currently serves as co-director of the Vitreoretinal fellowship at the University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. In his spare time, Dr. Albini also enjoys traveling with his wife and three children, as well as drumming.

Bio

Carl C. Awh (pronounced “Oh”), MD is President of Tennessee Retina in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the Duke University Eye Center with Dr. Robert Machemer and began his career at the Wilmer Eye Institute, where he was co-director of the Johns Hopkins Microsurgery Advanced Design Laboratory. He is an active investigator in industry and NIH-sponsored multi-center clinical trials, holds twelve U.S. patents for surgical devices, and has designed dozens of vitreoretinal surgical instruments. Dr. Awh is a consultant to numerous ophthalmic companies and has lectured in over twenty countries and on every continent (except Antarctica!). He has been named to the “Best Doctors in America” and is the recipient of Honor Awards and Senior Honor Awards from both the American Society of Retina Specialists and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is the President-Elect and Executive Committee member of the American Society of Retina Specialists and is a past board member of the European Society of Retina Specialists. Dr. Awh was inducted as an inaugural member of the "Retina Hall of Fame" in 2017. He is the happily married father of three children and enjoys golf, running, and travel.

Bio

Caroline R. Baumal, MD is a Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Retinopathy of Prematurity Service at New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA. She specializes in surgical and medical disorders of the retina and vitreous. Her long-term research interests include novel retinal imaging and drug development. Her clinical interests include age-related maculopathy, diabetic retinopathy, complex vitreoretinal surgery and pediatric retinal disorders.

Dr. Baumal completed medical school and ophthalmology residency at the University of Toronto after undergraduate studies at McGill University. She completed two fellowships: one at New England Eye Center, Boston in Medical Retina and Lasers and another in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Baumal is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. She has received various honors including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement award, American Society of Retinal Surgeons Honor Award, Retinal Hall of Fame, the Donald J. Gass Beacon of Sight Award from the Florida Ophthalmologic Society and most recently the American Society of Retinal Surgeons Crystal Apple award in 2020. She is on the editorial board for Retina Cases and Brief Reports and Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers and Imaging (OSLI) Retina. Dr. Baumal has authored over 100 publications, 28 book chapters and recently edited the book Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy. She was previously Director of Education and the Residency program at New England Eye Center and has been actively involved in teaching vitreoretinal fellows and residents for over 20 years.

Bio

David R. Chow, MD is an Assistant Professor and director of the Vitreoretinal fellowship at St Michael’s hospital, University of Toronto, and Co-Director of the Toronto Retina Institute. He completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto followed by a fellowship in Ocular Pathology and then Ophthalmology residency at McGill University. His vitreoretinal fellowship took place with Associated Retinal Consultants in Royal Oak, Michigan at William Beaumont hospital. His first staff position was at McGill University where he worked for 5 years as the Director of Retinal Research and the Vitreoretinal Fellowship. He then moved to Chicago to join Illinois Retina Associates where he worked for 5 years and restarted the Vitreoretinal Fellowship. He subsequently moved back to his hometown of Toronto to work at St Michael’s Hospital and opened the Toronto Retina Institute 10 years ago.

He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Retina Specialists as head of the Film Festival and Research. He co-founded the Canadian Retina Society, Best of Retina meeting and ASRS Fellows Forum for which he also served as the Program Director for 8 years. He was the Editor in Chief of the journal Techniques in Ophthalmology and co-authored the textbook, Microincisional Vitrectomy Surgery and OCT Angiography. He has authored over 100 publications and presented over 500 talks. His main interests have been vitreoretinal instrumentation for which he has patented and designed multiple instruments.

Bio

Dean Eliott, MD is Associate Director of the Retina Service, Fellowship Director, and the Stelios Evangelos Gragoudas Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Dr. Eliott attended Duke University for college, and he received his medical degree with honors from Vanderbilt University. He completed his residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital, and he received his vitreoretinal fellowship training at the Duke Eye Center. He then served as the Chief Resident and faculty member at Duke.

Following this, Dr. Eliott was Director of the Retina Service, Associate Professor, and Fellowship Director at Kresge Eye Institute. Subsequently, he was Director of the Doheny Retina Institute, Professor, and Fellowship Director at Doheny Eye Institute.

Dr. Eliott has received numerous teaching awards, including the Crystal Apple Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists and the Lifetime Mentor Award from the Vit-Buckle Society. He has been a principal investigator for many clinical trials, including the Argus II retinal prosthesis, stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cell transplants, stem cell-derived retinal progenitor cell transplants, and gene therapy studies.

Bio

Sunir J. Garg, MD, is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Retina Service of Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, and is a partner with Mid Atlantic Retina. He is co-director of the Retina Research Unit at Wills Eye Hospital. He has published over 150 papers and book chapters and is editor of ophthalmology for the Merck Manual, Deputy Editor for the American Academy of Ophthalmology ONE Network, and is Editor-in-Chief for Retina Times, an official publication of the American Society of Retina Specialists. He serves on the editorial boards of the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology and the American Journal of Ophthalmology and has appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Company, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and the Wall Street Journal.

Bio

Tarek S. Hassan, MD is Professor of Ophthalmology at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and Director of the Vitreoretinal Fellowship Training Program and senior Partner at Associated Retinal Consultants in Royal Oak, Michigan. Currently, he is the President of the Retina World Congress (RWC), President of the Retina Hall of Fame, Past President of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), and Past President of the Foundation of the ASRS. He served on the Executive Committee of both the ASRS and the Foundation of the ASRS for 12 years and has been on the ASRS Board of Directors for 22 years. He served as Program Chairman for two recent ASRS Annual Meetings and two Retina Subspecialty Day Meetings at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Meetings. He is a Founder and Director of the Retina Fellows Forum, Club Vit, RWC, and Retina Hall of Fame. He founded two international vitreoretinal societies and has served as the President of Club Vit for 22 years.

Dr. Hassan has an active academic clinical practice. He is extensively involved in both basic science and clinical vitreoretinal research studies and has served as principal investigator or co-investigator in more than 140 national trials, notably in the areas of macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and vitreoretinal surgery. He has authored and co-authored more than 225 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 8 books and book chapters for medical texts. He is Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Vitreoretinal Diseases, as well as a scientific reviewer for all the leading journals within ophthalmology and retina, and an editorial board member of several. He has been a leader in the areas of retinal detachment repair, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration, and has lectured extensively nationally and internationally for many years, giving over 720 presentations on numerous retinal topics. He was awarded the AAO Achievement Award in 2003, the ASRS Senior Honor Award in 2004, and the AAO Senior Achievement Award in 2013. He has also been named to the “Best Doctors in America” listing every year since 2000 and has been elected as an inaugural member of the Retina Hall of Fame. He is very committed to retina fellow education and has had the honor to train 51 clinical vitreoretinal fellows and nearly 30 international research fellows.

Born in Houston, Texas, Dr. Hassan obtained his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He did his ophthalmology residency at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center prior to completing his vitreoretinal fellowship at Associated Retinal Consultants/William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Bio

Aleksandra V. Rachitskaya, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University’s Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and a member of the vitreoretinal faculty at Cleveland Clinic’s Cole Eye Institute. She specializes in the diagnosis and management of medical and surgical retinal diseases. Prior to her appointment at the Cleveland Clinic in 2014, Dr. Rachitskaya served on faculty of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida, as the Chief Resident and Director of Ocular Trauma.

An active researcher, Dr. Rachitskaya is involved in numerous clinical trials, including studies on diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. In June of 2015, Dr. Rachitskaya and her colleagues at the Cole Eye Institute completed the first successful Argus II implant in the state of Ohio. Dr. Rachitskaya regularly publishes on her research and she has given numerous national and international presentations on her work. She is an active member of American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Specialists, the Retina Society, and the VBS Society. She is a recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award and the American Society of Retina Specialists Senior Honor Award.

Dr. Rachitskaya completed an internship in internal medicine at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and earned her medical degree at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. During medical school, she spent a year at the National Eye Institute as a National Institutes of Health-Howard Hughes Institute Research Fellow and earned an induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. In 2016 Dr. Rachitskaya was the recipient of the prestigious Case Western Reserve University Young Alumni Award.

Bio

Alan J. Ruby, MD received his undergraduate and medical degree with high honors from the University of Michigan. In his residency he served as Chief Resident of the Department of Ophthalmology at Northwestern University. He was a Heed Fellow during his retinal fellowship training at Washington University. Dr. Ruby is Professor of Ophthalmology at Oakland University, William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan. He is actively involved in a wide array of both basic science and clinical vitreoretinal research studies, and currently serves as principal investigator for multiple NEI studies. He is actively involved in fellow and resident education. Dr. Ruby serves as copresident of ARC and served as CFO prior to that. Dr. Ruby is a member of the American Society of Retina Specialists, Retinal Society, Michigan Ophthalmological Society, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Medical Association, Michigan State Medical Society, and Oakland County Medical Society, and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr Ruby has a special interest in the business of retina and has been on the organizing committee for the ASRS Business of Retina meeting for the last two years.

Bio

David Sarraf, MD is Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA and member of the Retinal Disorders and Ophthalmic Genetics Division. He has published close to 300 peer reviewed research papers, case reports and reviews and has authored 22 book chapters and is co-author for the second edition of the Retina Atlas and will be Section Editor for the 7th edition of Ryan Retina. Dr. Sarraf is a world leader in the field of advanced retinal imaging and has delivered over 300 invited lectures at various meetings worldwide including several endowed and keynote lectures.

Dr. Sarraf is Associate Editor for the journal Retinal Cases and Brief Reports and is an Editorial Board Member of the journals Retina and OSLI Retina and is Section Editor of (Ocular Imaging Section) for the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. He is also Section Editor for the Retina Times (X-Files) of the ASRS and has served on the BCSC section of the AAO and has been awarded Achievement and Secretariat and Senior Achievement awards by the AAO.

Dr. Sarraf is also Co-Director of the Pacific Retina Club and the International Retinal Imaging Symposium and is co-founder of the International Retinal Imaging Society. He is a member of the ASRS, AOS (American Ophthalmological Society), Retina Society and Gass Club and is an ARVO Imaging Program Committee member and has served as an Executive Board Member and Program Committee Member in the Macula Society. He has also served as an Advisory Consultant of the DRCR Network and is a Scientific Board Member of the Macula Foundation Inc and Optovue Inc.
Dr. Sarraf’s focus of research interest is in the field of advanced retinal imaging. He has been a pioneer in the clinical application of OCT angiography and is a world expert on OCTA and OCT imaging of the macula and has applied these technologies to better understand the structure and arrangement of the retinal capillary plexus and the ischemic cascade.
Dr. Sarraf’s research has also focused on the dry and wet forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and specifically the evaluation of pigment epithelial detachment (PED) and retinal pigment epithelial tears. He was nominated to the American Ophthalmological Society because of his research work on the subject of PED and AMD.

Bio

Amy C. Schefler, MD grew up in New York City. She completed her ophthalmology residency, vitreoretinal surgery fellowship, and ocular oncology fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. She was awarded a Heed Ophthalmic Award, a Society of Heed Fellows Award, and the Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Foundation Award. Following fellowship, Dr. Schefler served on the Bascom Palmer faculty as Chief Resident and Co-Director of Ocular Trauma, followed by two years on the faculty at Bascom Palmer.

Since 2012, she has been a partner at Retina Consultants of Texas in Houston TX, and runs the ocular oncology service at Houston Methodist Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Dr. Schefler directs multiple prospective multicenter trials on the subject of eye tumors and is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications, over 20 book chapters, and over 75 national and international meeting presentations. She serves as a reviewer for 20 major ophthalmic journals.

Bio

Rishi P. Singh, MD is a staff surgeon at the Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic, and Professor of Ophthalmology at the Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He also currently serves as the medical director of informatics at the Cleveland Clinic. He received his bachelors and medical degrees from Boston University and completed his residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Harvard Combined Program in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Singh then completed a medical and surgical fellowship at the Cole Eye Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.

He specializes in the treatment of medical and surgical retinal disease such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, and age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Singh has authored more than 160 peer reviewed publications, books, and book chapters and serves as the principal investigator of numerous national clinical trials advancing the treatment of retinal disease. Dr. Singh is the former founder and president of the Retina World Congress and is on the Board of the American Society of Retina Specialists.

Dr. Singh's current work focuses on big data research studies, deeper learning applications for healthcare, lean process improvement, and decision support modules for clinical practice. Dr. Singh has been honored with several research recognitions such as the Alpha Omega Alpha Research Award and the ASRS President’s Early Career Investigator Award.