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UCSF 2012 Alumnus of the Year Award - Melvin L. Rubin, MD

  • Melvin L. Rubin, MD, MSc, ophthalmology professor and chairman emeritus at UF college of medicine was selected by the University of California (SF) School of Medicine Medical Alumni Association to receive the UCSF 2012 Alumnus of the Year Award, the highest honor given by the Association. It is presented to those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Medicine as outstanding physicians through service in their respective fields, and having an amazing list of accomplishments. The award was given in San Francisco on April 21 at the UCSF alumni reunion, attended by over 1700 graduates.

Spotlight on Research - Gregory Schultz, Ph.D.

  • Gregory Schultz, Ph.D., Professor and Director of COM Medical Sciences Research Program, continues to investigate the molecular regulation of wound healing in several tissues including the eye, skin and peritoneal cavity, and the role of bacterial biofilms in chronic wounds.

    See the excerpt from the article here

American Academy of Ophthalmology Honoree - Melvin Rubin, MD

  • Dr. Melvin Rubin, a professor and chair emeritus of ophthalmology, was honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his contributions to education in ophthalmology.

    See the excerpt from the article here

Annual Alumni/Resident Research Day, June 17th, 2011

  • Please join us at the upcoming annual Resident and Alumni Research Day that will be held on June 17, 2011. We have a number of alumni who will be speaking in the morning including Dr. Lance Forstot, who will present the 4th annual Frank Polack, MD lectureship and Dr. Maher Fanous who will present the 2nd annual Bill Doyle, MD lectureship. The residents and fellows will present their research projects following these talks. I hope you can join us for these presentations as well as the graduation dinner that evening at the Best Western Hotel located at 4200 NW 97th Blvd, Gainesville FL, 32606 (352) 331-3336.

Be part of the "Living Green Ribbon" Aerial Photo Shoot

  • April is National Donate Life month, and throughout the month, the UF Health Science Center and Shands at UF are joining others around the country in promoting awareness about organ and tissue donation. We invite all members of the HSC and Shands at UF — faculty, staff, students and volunteers — to help kick off the month’s activities with the Living Green Ribbon photo shoot. Bring a friend.

    For more information, please visit the website here!

Dr. Robert Knape receives 2010-2011 Society of Teaching Scholars Outstanding Resident Teaching Award

  • The Society of Teaching Scholars initiated the "Outstanding Resident Teacher Award" 5 years ago. The nomination for the award is made by the program director in each department. The award honors a resident who has been the most outstanding in teaching medical students and fellow residents. The award consists of a plaque, which will be presented at the annual Medical Education Banquet. This year's Banquet will be on Tuesday, February 22nd at the Hilton/UF Hotel and Conference Center. Dr. Knape wil be honored at this time, along with residents from other departments in Gainesville and Jacksonville.

    Congratulations to Dr. Knape for being selected to receive 2010-2011 Society of Teaching Scholars Outstanding Resident Teaching Award!

Dr. Nausheen Khuddus appointed Medical Director Representative for Ophthalmology

  • Dr. Nausheen Khuddus was recently appointed the Medical Director Representative for Ophthalmology. She will serve in this role for both the Shands Medical Plaza and the Hampton Oaks clinics.

    Clinical Medical Directors serve as the liasion between departments, administration, clinic support staff and the faculty who practice daily in our ambulatory clinics. Medical Directors serve as an important conduit of information both from College of Medicine leadership to faculty and from practicing clinicians to the leadership. Medical Directors help with budgeting for the clinics, selection and evaluation of clinic support staff, as well as developing the policies and procedures to be followed in the clinic setting. Clinic Medical Directors report to the Chief Medical Officer of the Faculty Practice and the respective Department Chairman.

    Congratulations to Dr. Khuddus on this new and important assignment!

Dr. Clay Smith receives Faculty Enhancement Opportunity Award

  • The Provost Office of the University of Florida recently announced Dr. Clay Smith, Associate Professor of Research, was named a recipient of a Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) award for the Fall semester. The FEO award is sponsored by the President’s office.

    See the full article here

American Academy of Ophthalmology - Special Recognition Award to Melvin L. Rubin MD

  • The American Academy of Ophthalmology is pleased to award Melvin L. Rubin MD, the Special Recognition Award for his noteworthy accomplishments in eye science and education and for his many roles in ophthalmology.

    See the full article here

Refreshing Research - Voters Choose UF Project for Pepsi Award

  • Researchers from UF's College of Medicine have received $50,000 in funding to continue work that may lead to a drug used to prevent recurrent outbreaks of herpes in people who have the disease. The award came from a somewhat unusual source: soft drink giant PepsiCo.

    See the full article here

    Pepsi Award
    (Source: The Post, 09/2010, Photo: Sarah Newell, Story: Laura Mize)

 

Ophthalmology department receives Research to Prevent Blindness Grant

  • GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 13, 2010) — Research to Prevent Blindness has awarded an unrestricted research grant of $100,000 to the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases.

    “This grant from RPB helps to support our cutting-edge research, particularly in the area of retinal degenerations, including macular degeneration,” said department Chairman William T. Driebe, M.D., who will direct the research. “We are appreciative of the continuing support of RPB and the confidence they have placed in our research team.”

    RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. To date, the organization has awarded grants totaling more than $3.3 million to the University of Florida College of Medicine.

    Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions throughout the United States for research into all blinding eye diseases. For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to RPB Grants Program (www.rpbusa.org)

W. Clay Smith receives merit award for eye research

  • GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 13, 2010) — W. Clay Smith, Ph.D., of the University of Florida College of Medicine, has been granted a $60,000 RPB Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award by Research to Prevent Blindness.

    Established in 1995, the Lew R. Wasserman Merit Awards provide unrestricted support to mid-career M.D. and Ph.D. scientists who hold primary positions within departments of ophthalmology and who are actively engaged in eye research at medical institutions in the United States. Smith is one of 108 scientists at 44 institutions who have been honored with this award.

    Smith’s research focuses on the interactions of elements in the retina that are responsible for capturing light and regulating the use of metabolic resources in cells known as photoreceptors. Defects in these components and their interactions have been shown to cause retinitis pigmentosa and may also lead to macular defects. Recent discoveries showing that light can regulate the consumption of metabolic reserves offer a new avenue to explore for therapeutic intervention in these diseases.

    RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions throughout the United States for research into all blinding eye diseases. For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to RPB Grants Program (www.rpbusa.org)

 

2010 ARVO Meeting - Vision Research Program Awarded to Dr. Greg Schultz

  • At this years' ARVO meeting, Dr. Greg Schultz received a Vision Research Program Award from the Department of Defense's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center. This award is given to those who are conducting research related to the understanding of the impact of traumatic eye injuries. Congratulations, Dr. Schultz!

    Vision Research Program Winners
    Left to Right: Randy Kardon, M.D., Ph.D., (University of Iowa), Stacy Choi, O.D., Ph.D. (New England College of Optometry), James Weiland, Ph.D., (Doheny Eye Institute/University of Southern California), and Gregory Schultz, PH.D. (University of Florida)
    (source: Spring/Summer 2010 NAEVR/AEVR Contributor Report)

 

Lions Eye Foundation gift to help blindness

  • May 26 was a very important date for the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. It was the day the North Florida Lions Eye Foundation gave a gift of $30,000, which will be used for research into age-related macular degeneration, a medical condition that usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. “The department of ophthalmology is very appreciative of the Lions Foundation support of our research,” said Dr. William Driebe, chair for the department. “Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness among those 60 years and older in our country.” The research supported by the North Florida Lions Eye Foundation is designed to better understand why AMD occurs and what can be done to treat or prevent this disease. The North Florida Lions Eye Foundation has donated a total of $80,000 to the department over the years to fund this research.

    For More information please visit the College of Medicine Insider Web page.

 

Basic Science Research Award awarded to William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D

  • 2010 Basic Research Award Recipient

    Hauswirth has cured one form of blindness in humans – a remarkable feat indeed! It is difficult to think of anyone else on campus who has accomplished more, contributed to the society in general, and to science in particular more, and deserves this accolade more than Dr. Hauswirth.

 

2009 "Florida Newsmaker of the Year for Science", awarded to William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D

2009 "Florida Newsmaker of the Year for Science, awarded by Florida Trend, to William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., the Rybaczki-Bullard professor of ophthalmology and molecular genetics, COM. Dr. Hauswirth led a team that helped three people born with an incurable form of blindness regain some of their vision. He also showed how gene therapy could cure squirrel monkeys of color blindness — the most common genetic disorder in people. The finding — which was deemed the No. 3 scientific discovery of 2009 by Time magazine — represents a significant step toward curing human vision disorders involving cone cells, which are the most important cells for sight.

 

Blind Gene Therapy

A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL MAY SOON APPEAR FOR THOSE SUFFERING A FORM OF GENETIC BLINDNESS. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT RETINAL GENE THERAPY CAN IMPROVE THE EYESIGHT OF PEOPLE BORN WITH A GENE DEFECT THAT ROBS THEM OF THEIR VISION.

Dr. William Hauswirth/UF researcher: "The gene essentially goes into the cells that is missing it, and it starts expressing the protein that it encodes, and that protein is the enzyme they’re missing. So, this enzyme then restores the visual cycle to these cells."    Read More

Award: Florida Newsmaker of the Year for Science

2009 "Florida Newsmaker of the Year for Science, awarded by Florida Trend, to William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., the Rybaczki-Bullard professor of ophthalmology and molecular genetics, COM. Dr. Hauswirth led a team that helped three people born with an incurable form of blindness regain some of their vision. He also showed how gene therapy could cure squirrel monkeys of color blindness — the most common genetic disorder in people. The finding — which was deemed the No. 3 scientific discovery of 2009 by Time magazine — represents a significant step toward curing human vision disorders involving cone cells, which are the most important cells for sight.

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Dr. Cameron Johnson on Shands Radio

Listen to an interview with Dr. Cameron Johnson on Shands Radio

For More information on iLASIK please visit our iLASIK Procedure page.

 

New Faculty:

Christine Kay, MD
Christine Kay, MD

Dr. Kay is an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida. She completed her medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine. After completing a transitional internship at the Roanoke Carilion Memorial Hospital, she completed her Ophthalmology residency training at the University of South Florida, and a vitreoretinal fellowship at the University of Iowa. Dr. Kay is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Retinal Specialists. Dr. Kay evaluates and treats multiple retinal problems including diabetic eye disease, retinal vascular occlusions, macular edema, uveitis, macular degeneration, epiretinal membranes and macular holes, retinal tears and detachments, and has a particular interest in inherited retinal disease and electrophysiology. Her particular research focus is in gene therapy delivery for inherited retinal disease. She has a career development award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness for research on genetic therapy for Achromatopsia, a disease affecting color vision and central vision.

Dr. Kay is very interested in creating an inherited retinal disease-specific clinic here at the University of Florida and is recruiting patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, Leber congenital amaurosis, Achromatopsia or other cone-related disorders, and any other inherited retinal diseases.

 

Anup Kubal, MD
Anup Kubal, MD

Dr. Anup Kubal Joins Ophthalmology Cornea and iLASIK Team

Dr. Anup Kubal joined the Department of Ophthalmology as a cornea, external diseases and refractive surgery (iLASIK) specialist on August 1, 2010. Dr. Kubal attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, completed his internship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, his residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and a fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami.

Dr. Kubal is board eligible with the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the International Society of Refractive Surgery and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Dr. Kubal sees patients at the Shands Medical Plaza and Eye Specialties Clinic at Hampton Oaks where he also performs iLASIK evaluations and procedures. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kubal, please call 352-265-7080 at Shands Medical Plaza, or 352-265-9470 at Hampton Oaks. To make an appointment for an iLASIK evaluation with Dr. Kubal, please call 352-273-8714.

 

Hazem Samy, MD
Hazem Samy, MD

Dr. Hazem Samy is Director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology service at the University of Florida, and also provides comprehensive ophthalmology services.  Dr. Samy trained as a fellow in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Illinois and is a board certified ophthalmologist.  He also has training in neurology.  Dr. Samy was previously on faculty at the University of Pittsburgh where he served as Director of Neuro-Ophthalmology Service, and also provided comprehensive ophthalmology services.  Dr. Samy is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the North America Neuro-Ophthalmology Society.  His special interests include optic neuropathies and ocular motility disorders.  Dr. Samy has been seeing neuro-ophthalmology and general patients at Shands Medical Plaza since December 2009.