RetinaRounds™

Today we’re diving into what it really takes to start your own retina practice.  We will discuss the upside of autonomy and ownership, and the very real financial, operational, and lifestyle challenges that come with it. Our guest is Dr. Nadeem Vaidya, who will share his journey and playbook for anyone considering going out on their own.

Today I’m joined by Dr. Daniel Agarwal, a vitreoretinal surgeon at San Luis Obispo Eye Associates on California’s Central Coast. In this episode, Daniel shares hard-earned pearls from his first job search in retina, what he wishes he had focused on, and how those lessons helped him pivot to a second position that was a much better fit both professionally and personally. Whether you’re a fellow ...

Today we’re joined by anterior segment expert and guest surgeon of the week, Dr. Steven Safran, who walks us through practical principles for managing complex lens cases that every retina specialist needs to understand.

Retina Rounds is excited to welcome a true leader in ophthalmology and a giant in retina: Dr. Jay Duker. Dr. Duker is one of the most accomplished figures in our field, having served as Chair of Ophthalmology at Tufts Medical Center, where he helped shape both clinical care and research for over two decades.  He’s now President and CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals and, in today’s episode, we dis...

Today, we’re joined by Dr. Alex Yuan, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Vitreoretinal Fellowship Program Director at the Cole Eye Institute. In this episode, Dr. Yuan shares his insights on building a successful career in academic medicine, essential strategies for securing grant funding, and his philosophy on medical education. In addit...

Today we’re diving into one of the most transformative forces in modern medicine: Artificial Intelligence (AI).  How will AI change the way ophthalmic care is delivered? What new possibilities, and challenges, will it bring to the clinic and beyond? To unpack these questions, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome Dr. Theodore Leng, Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Clinical and Translationa...

This week, we are honored to welcome a very special guest to Retina Rounds: Dr. Rishi Singh, the incoming Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Singh has been a giant in medical education, retina research, and healthcare leadership, having served as Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, Vice President an...

What is the role of scleral buckling in modern vitreoretinal surgery?  In today’s podcast we are going to do something a bit different: we are thrilled to feature an interview performed by our friend and Retina Rounds contributor, Dr. David Perez Gonzalez.  Dr. Gonzalez is a rising star in vitreoretinal surgery and the founder of Eyesite Academy, an ophthalmic surgery education channel.  In the...

Posterior segment manifestations of ocular trauma are some of the most challenging cases for vitreoretinal specialists to manage.  Today we are absolutely thrilled to welcome an ocular trauma and vitreoretinal specialist to Retina Rounds, Dr. David Lozano Giral.  Dr. Lozano Giral is Director of the Ocular Trauma Service at the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA where he is also an Assistant Professor ...

Career trajectories rarely follow a linear path.  As new opportunities arise, pivoting professionally or adding on new responsibilities takes courage and requires careful consideration.  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds is thrilled to welcome an academic and industry leader in our field, Dr. Caroline Baumal.  Dr. Baumal is Professor of Ophthalmology at New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Cen...

Retina Rounds is excited to welcome Dr. Devinder Chauhan, an Australian vitreoretinal specialist, innovator, and Founder & CEO of Macuject. Dr. Chauhan is pioneering the use of Artificial Intelligence to support clinical decision making in retinal disease. We’ll explore how these tools can be integrated into clinic workflows to help tailor treatment intervals, refine diagnoses, and hopefully im...

Leadership in retina can take many forms including scientific research, education, involvement in professional societies and advocacy efforts.  If you want to be a leader, how can you set yourself up for success?  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds is thrilled to welcome Dr. Michael Klufas, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College and a vitreoretinal faculty member at th...

As part of our "Giants in Retina" series, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome Dr. Donald D’Amico, Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College.  Throughout his storied career, Dr. D’Amico has shaped the careers of countless ophthalmologists and vitreoretinal specialists.  He is an internationally recognized leader in our field having served as President of the Retina...

In today’s episode, Retina Rounds is excited to welcome Dr. Ehsan Rahimy.  Dr. Rahimy is the Chief of Retina at Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University.  He is known as an outstanding surgeon, a perceptive clinician, a prolific researcher and a highly sought after industry collaborator.  In today’s episode, Dr. Rahimy shares ...

As part of our “Giants in Retina” Series, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome a true giant in biomedical innovation, Dr. Mark Humayun.  Dr. Humayun is Professor of Ophthalmology, Co-Director of the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute and Director of the USC Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsberg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics.  Dr. Humayun is an ophthalmologist, engineer, sci...

In this episode we welcome a very special guest to the Retina Rounds Podcast, Dr. Jean-Pierre Hubschman. Dr Hubschman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Horizon Surgical Systems, a company that is developing a robot-assisted ophthalmic surgery platform. In the podcast, Dr. Hubschman talks about how he reinvented his career, the challenges of developing innovative technology, and the importance of fol...

We’re thrilled to welcome to the Retina Rounds podcast Dr. Firas Rahhal.  Dr. Rahhal has been a leader in multiple arenas of ophthalmology.  He was a former faculty member and Retina Clinic Director at the Cornell University Department of Ophthalmology.  He is currently Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, partner at the esteemed Retina-Vitreous Associates Medi...

Continuing our conversation with Dr. Omar Shakir, we are going to dive further into the details of Office Based Surgery.  My concerns, and I think the concerns of most vitreoretinal surgeons, center around patient safety.  We discuss this issue more as well as delving into topics like patient access, financial considerations and potential ethical issues around office-based surgery.  If you have...

Is Office-Based Surgery (OBS) right for you?  In today’s podcast, Retina Rounds welcomes Dr. Omar Shakir, a pioneer in office-based surgery.  Dr. Shakir is the founder of Coastal Eye Surgeons in Greenwich, Connecticut and a Clinical Instructor at Yale University.  Dr. Shakir practices as both a cataract/refractive and a vitreoretinal surgeon, which, while more common abroad, is unique in the Un...

Multimodal imaging has become indispensable in the management of a wide variety of medical retina conditions.  Increasingly the role of imaging has extended into vitreoretinal surgery, allowing vitreoretinal surgeons to have new insights on the detection, prognostication, management and postoperative surveillance of surgical conditions.  In today’s podcast we are excited to welcome Dr. Anibal F...

Medical innovation is one of the cornerstones of ophthalmology and specifically retina.  Today Retina Rounds is excited to welcome a rising star in med-tech innovation, Dr. Frank Brodie.  Dr. Brodie is Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco and an attending vitreoretinal specialist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  Dr. Brodie has...

Wrapping up our week of videos from UCLA vitreoretinal surgical fellows, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome Dr. Tara McCannel.  Dr. McCannel is professor of Ophthalmology at the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA where she serves as the director of the ophthalmic oncology center, chief wellness officer and the vitreoretinal surgical fellowship director.  Dr. McCannel talks about her path to ophthalmo...

In this episode we have the distinct pleasure of  welcoming to the Retina Rounds podcast Dr. Thomas Albini.  Dr. Albini is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute where he practices as a surgical retina and uveitis specialist and serves as the co-director of the Bascom Palmer Surgical Vitreoretinal Fellowship.  Dr. Albini is also one of the founders of the Vit-Buckle Socie...

For the past week, Retina Rounds has been honored to welcome Dr. Mayank Bansal as our guest surgeon.  He has shared a wide spectrum of educational vitreoretinal surgical videos and now we welcome him for our podcast interview with Dr. Steven Schwartz.  Dr. Bansal is the founder and director of Claritas Eye & Retina Center in Delhi, India and has trained throughout the world including the famous...

As part of our “Giants in Retina” series, Retina Rounds is honored and excited to welcome Dr. David Brown.  Dr. Brown built one of the premier private practices and clinical research centers in the world at Retina Consultants of Houston and his practice has served as a model for how to maintain high quality and ethical standards when conducting clinical research.  Beyond his numerous scientific...

As part of our “Giants in Retina” series, Retina Rounds is honored to welcome Dr. Barry Kuppermann.  For over 3 decades, Dr. Kuppermann has been an innovator and pioneer in the field of ophthalmic drug delivery, having made transformational contributions in the management of both infectious and inflammatory ocular disorders.  In addition, Dr. Kuppermann has been an academic leader.  As Chair of...

To wrap up our week of pediatric vitreoretinal surgery, we are delighted to welcome to the Retina Rounds Podcast Dr. Aaron Nagiel.  As many of you have seen through the videos he has shared with us, Dr. Nagiel is an extremely talented and innovative surgeon.  During this podcast we will get to learn more about Dr. Nagiel’s career path, what drew him to pediatric retina, his thoughts on the futu...

For our latest podcast, Retina Rounds welcomes Dr. Naresh Mandava, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado.  Over the past 18 years under Dr. Mandava’s leadership, the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado has seen immense growth including the building of the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center and the expansion of their clinician-scientist faculty...

In this week’s podcast, Dr. Steven Schwartz interviews Dr. Jack Wells, former Vice-Chair for the DRCR.net,  Ophthalmology Department Chair at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, managing member of Palmetto Retina Cdenter in Columbia South Carolina, and a leader in clinical trials.  Dr. Wells talks about his formative years under the mentorship of Tom Aaberg, Alan Bird and Zdene...

In today's podcast, part of our "Giants in Retina" series, Dr. Steven Schwartz interviews Dr. Mark Blumenkranz.  Dr. Blumenkranz has been an innovator as a clinician, surgeon and department chair.  Known for many contributions in ophthalmology, Dr. Blumenkranz founded the retina fellowship training program at the Beaumont Eye Institute and was the guiding force behind the creation of the Byers ...

In the latest episode of our "Giants in Retina" series, Steven Schwartz interviews Dr. David Parke.  Dr. Parke has been a leader in ophthalmology, academia and organized medicine having served as the President and CEO of the Dean McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma and the CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Parke discusses his career path in ophthalmology, the guidi...

For Podcast #2 in our "Giants in Retina" Series, Dr. Steven Schwartz interviews Dr. George Williams.  Dr. Williams is Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Director of the Beaumont Eye Institute in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He has served as past President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has been instrumental in shaping healthcare policy, benefiting numerous patients.  In additio...

For the first episode in our podcast series, Retina Rounds podcast co-host, Steven Schwartz, MD interviews an innovator, surgical pioneer and one of the fathers of modern vitreoretinal surgery: Steve Charles, MD. Dr. Charles has developed many of the machines and tools we use every day in the operating room, which is one of the many reasons he received the Laureate Recognition Award from the Am...