Through the Looking Glass, Winter 2023

Winter 2023

Message from the Chairman

as an international destination for vision research and patient care, and we hope you will be proud of it. We are planning a dedicated event for you all to see the new building, meet our faculty, and relive some of your Pittsburgh memories!

Greetings to all of our alumni and friends! I’m excited to share with you the latest issue of our alumni newsletter. 2023 is going to be an exciting year for the Department of Ophthalmology, with much of the excitement stemming from the upcoming grand opening of the new Vision Institute at UPMC Pavilion at Mercy. This new, state-of-the-art home to our clinical and research facilities will help cement Pittsburgh

In this issue, we’re excited to introduce several new members of our faculty, including our new E. Ronald Salvitti Professor of Ophthalmology Research and Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of Research John Ash. You’ll also get to see the impressive list of publications that our faculty worked on in 2022, with over 200 publications department wide. Our faculty also had a successful year in terms of grants and awards, with more than a doubling in NIH Funding, bringing our department more recognition on a national and international level. Finally, you’ll get to know Dr. Amanda Way, a 2015 resident graduate of our department.

You’ll notice a list of save the dates. We’d love an opportunity to see you in 2023. In the meantime, please keep in touch through our news submission page, or follow what we’re working on through the Eye & Ear Foundation social media pages. As always, we are so proud of our alumni’s work and the great reputation you bring to our department. Looking forward to connecting with you in the new year!

Sincerely,

José-Alain Sahel, MD Distinguished Professor and Chairman

Department of Ophthalmology

The Eye & Ear Foundation

Endowed Chair

University of Pittsburgh

School of Medicine

Exceptional Class Professor, Sorbonne University, Paris

Dr. John Ash Joins Department of Ophthalmology

The University of Pittsburgh and the Eye & Ear Foundation are pleased to welcome John Ash, PhD, as the new Vice Chair and Director of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, effective December 1, 2022. He will hold the E. Ronald Salvitti Professor of Ophthalmology Research and Directorship of the Charles and Luella Snyder Lab. He will also have a role in the leadership of the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration.

Dr. Ash comes to Pittsburgh from the University of Florida. From 2011 on, he was the Francis M. Bullard Eminent Scholar Chair in Ophthalmic Sciences in the Department of Ophthalmology. Prior to that, he was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Ash’s research is focused on mechanisms of vision loss from inherited retinal degeneration and age-related macular degeneration. His studies have shown that in the early stages of the disease, the retina responds to injury by inducing the expression of neuroprotective cytokines such as leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). He also discovered that these cytokines are expressed under conditions of stress. The increased LIF is important in preventing or delaying photoreceptor or RPE cell death under chronic stress conditions, including inherited mutations known to cause blindness.

Using mouse genetic engineering, Dr. Ash’s lab has demonstrated that loss of the LIF receptor, gp130, or its signaling intermediate STAT3, results in accelerated retinal degeneration. These results have broad implications for the understanding of human inherited retinal degeneration. In humans, disease-causing genes are present before birth, but patients inheriting mutations that cause retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration typically do not develop the disease for decades.

Dr. Ash’s work suggests that LIF and its receptor gp130 keep cells alive and functioning, and their induction delays the onset and progression of the disease. He is currently funded to identify the mechanisms by which activation of STAT3 mediates retinal protection.

In another project, Dr. Ash studied the role of metabolism in retinal degeneration. The retina has highly metabolic activity, and retinal degenerations have been associated with dysregulation of multiple metabolic pathways that lead to toxic oxidative damage. Little is known about how metabolism is maintained under normal conditions or is dysregulated in degenerating retinas. Dr. Ash found that AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a key regulator of metabolism in highly metabolic tissues and is a candidate for regulating metabolism in photoreceptors. Dr. Ash published the finding that enhancing activation of AMPK using the drug metformin reduces degeneration through an AMPK-dependent mechanism. This suggests that AMPK is an important regulator of photoreceptor metabolism and is essential to maintaining retinal health. He is currently working to identify additional therapeutic targets in the AMPK pathway.

Prior to joining the Department, he worked closely with the team, scientists, Jeff Gross, and José-Alain Sahel to prepare a smooth and efficient transition.

Support from the E. Ronald Salvitti Chair, the Eye & Ear Foundation, the Hillman Foundation, UPMC, and Pitt have made Dr. Ash’s position possible.

John Ash, PhD

Ophthalmology Faculty

José-Alain Sahel, MD

Distinguished Professor and Chairman

Department of Ophthalmology

The Eye & Ear Foundation

Endowed Chair University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Exceptional Class Professor, Sorbonne University, Paris

Issam Al Diri, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Sohani Amarasekera, MD Clinical Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology

Alexander J. Anetakis, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

John D. Ash, PhD

E. Ronald Salvitti Professor of Ophthalmology Research

Vice Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of Research

Marlene Behrmann, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Miguel Betegon, PhD Research Assistant Professor

Robert Bittner, OD, FAAO Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Gabrielle R. Bonhomme, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Ellen Butts, OD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Leah Byrne, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Kun-Che Chang, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Yuanyuan Chen, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Xing Chen, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Jay Chhablani, MD Professor of Ophthalmology

Ian Conner, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Susana da Silva, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Developmental Biology

Kunal K Dansingani, MBBS, MA, FRCOphth

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Emily DePew, OD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Deepinder K. Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac Professor of Ophthalmology

Morgan V. DiLeo (Fedorchak), PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Bioengineering and Clinical & Translational Sciences

Yiqin Du, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Amgad Eldib, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Andrew W. Eller, MD Professor of Ophthalmology

Marie Hélène Errera, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Airaj Fasiuddin, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Jerome Finkelstein, MD, FACS Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Thomas R. Friberg, MD, FACS Professor of Ophthalmology

Roxana Fu, MD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Meghal Gagrani, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Denise S. Gallagher, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Anna G. Gushchin, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Jean C. Harwick, MD, FACS

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

James P. Herman, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Jamila Hiasat, MD

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Nathan Isaacson, OD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Vishal Jhanji, MD, FRCS (Glasgow), FRCOphth, FARVO Professor of Ophthalmology

Roheena Kamyar, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Lama Khatib, MD

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Paul (Kip) R. Kinchington, PhD

Joseph F. Novak, M.D., Chair in Ophthalmology Research

Professor of Ophthalmology, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry

Can Kocasarac, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Takaaki Kuwajima, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Kira L. Lathrop, MAMS

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology Faculty (continued)

Alkiviades Liasis, BSc, PhD Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology

Craig A. Luchansky, OD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Alex Mammen, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Jon Mandell, PhD Research Assistant Professor

Joseph N. Martel, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

J Patrick Mayo, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Ellen Mitchell, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Sabrina Mukhtar, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Ken K. Nischal, MD, FAAP, FRCOphth Professor of Ophthalmology

Preeti Patil, MD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Shaohua Pi, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Matthew Pihlblad, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Scott L. Portnoy, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Gaurav Prakash, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Colin Prensky, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Pamela Rath, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Eric Romanowski, MS Research Instructor of Ophthalmology

Boris Rosin, MD, PhD Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology

Ethan A. Rossi, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Robert M.Q. Shanks, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Tarek Shazly, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Ian A. Sigal, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Bioengineering

Debasish Sinha, PhD Jennifer Salvitti Davis, M.D. Chair in Ophthalmology Research Professor of Ophthalmology, Cell Biology and Developmental Biology

William Smith, OD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Anthony St. Leger, PhD

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Immunology

Marshall W. Stafford, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

S. Tonya Stefko, MD Professor of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Neurological Surgery

John Swogger, DO Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Kiran Kumar Vupparaboina, PhD Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Evan L. Waxman, MD, PhD Professor of Ophthalmology

Xiangyun Wei, PhD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Andrew Williams, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Gary (Hin-Fai) Yam, PhD Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Hongmin Yun, MD, PhD Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration Welcomes New Co-Director

“His contributions to the identification of new targets for therapy are exceptional,” said University of Pittsburgh Chair of Ophthalmology Dr. José-Alain Sahel. “His broad and deep knowledge will bring a strong expertise to the Department. He is also a widely recognized mentor and has always been a friend of the Department and the Fox Center.”

Dr. Benowitz is most looking forward to being connected to “such an important center, great department, and great university. The Fox Center has played an important role in bringing together leaders in understanding the development, pathology, and repair of visual circuits, he said, and he hopes to continue and expand this mission.

Larry Benowitz, PhD, has joined the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration part time as its new co-director. The Professor of Neurosurgery and Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Neurosurgical Innovation and Research Endowed Professor at Boston Children’s Hospital is a world expert in the field of optic nerve regeneration.

Indeed, Dr. Benowitz said he has been privileged to participate in the Fox Center’s annual meetings for 10 consecutive years, during which he has become friends with Louis and Dorothy Fox – who established the Center– and has gotten to know many of the “wonderful faculty and staff connected with the Center and Pitt.”

“Larry’s addition to the Fox Center team will add new energy and excitement, and will enable us to readily achieve our goals of optic nerve regeneration,” Louis Fox said.

Indeed, a major goal is to help mentor junior faculty in planning projects, interpreting results, writing grant applications and papers, and thinking about their careers.

“Another [goal] is to strengthen interactions with other leading centers, including other departments and foundations with which I’ve been connected, and to develop ways to support wide-ranging collaboration among our investigators here and with investigators elsewhere. Of course, we all share the ultimate goal of doing everything possible to hasten the development of treatments for currently disabling losses of vision.”

Meet Neuroscientist Marlene Behrmann

“I am very excited to join the Department of Ophthalmology and to be part of this major initiative in vision science,” Dr. Behrmann said. “I have always had a dual interest in basic science and the more translational and clinical applications of the knowledge, and now I am able to focus on both aspects in parallel.”

Dr. Behrmann is the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Engineering and Science and the APA Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Marlene Behrmann, PhD, a world-famous neuroscientist, has joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is also a Thomas S. Baker University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Behrmann’s research is concerned with the psychological and neural bases of visual processing, specifically on the mechanisms by which the signals from the eye are transformed into meaningful percepts by the visual cortex. She adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining computational, neuropsychological, and functional brain imaging studies with normal and brain-damaged individuals. In the Department, Dr. Behrmann will apply her skills to studies of the visual system of the brain and the neuroprosthetics projects.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Behrmann, a unique trailblazer in visual and cognitive neuroscience,” said José-Alain Sahel, Department of Ophthalmology Chair. “Her insights and involvement in our research programs and the scope of her expertise and plans are truly transformative.”

Dr. Behrmann said she has much to learn from her new colleagues. “I am invigorated by the opportunity to start new projects and collaborate with others in the department and build a bridge between the eyes and the visual system of the brain,” she added.

Larry Benowitz, PhD

Marlene Behrmann, PhD

Department Grants

Anfisa Ayalon

Hamzah Aweidah

Spectral properties of ERG oscillatory potentials in hereditary retinal dystrophies prior to and following theapplication of gene therapy employing a novel gel-based AAV delivery system

PRPF31-associated retinal degeneration: clinical and genetic characterization in humans and gene augmentation therapy in a non-human primate model

Anthony St. Leger Contribution of sympathetic nerves to herpes stromal keratitis

Assessing how ocular surface nerves, immune cells, and epithelial cells communicate to encourage neuro-immune homeostasis

Bingjie Wang

Debasish Sinha

In Vivo Cellular Identification of RGC Degeneration and Regeneration in Rats

UPMC Immune Transplant and Therapy Center (ITTC)Cryba1 Gene Therapy for Nonexudative Age Related Macular Degeneration

Debasish Sinha Function of a lens protein betaA3/A1-crystallin in astrocytes

$397,500 Eric Romanowski In Vitro Evaluation of REMOGEN ® Omega for Indicators of Alteration of the Inflammatory Response

A Dual Antibiotic-Steroid Drug-Eluting Contact Lens for Treatment of Eye Injuries That Can Be Used in an Austere Environment or Prolonged Field Care Setting

Retinal eye-tracking as a prognostic tool for traumatic brain injury and concussion

Cross-species vascular anatomy and sensitivity to intraocular pressure in glaucoma

Jay Kumar Chhablani

Jay Kumar Chhablani

Interplay between retinal pigment epithelium, Bruch’s membrane and choriocapillaris in AMD progression: towards generation of customized “Retina-RPE-BM-CC assembloid” in vitro model

A Randomized, Partially Masked, Controlled, Phase 3 Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of RGX-314 Gene Therapy in Participants with nAMD

Inc.

Jose Sahel

A Phase 2/3, Randomized, Controlled, Masked, Multi-center Study to Evaluate Efficacy, Safety & Tolerability of AGTC501, Compared to an Untreated Control Group in Males with X-linked RP Confirmed by a Pathogenic Variant in the RPGR Gene

Corporation (AGCT)

Department Grants (continued)

Jose Sahel Uni-Rare: Addendum to MA between Jaeb Center/FFB & University of Pittsburgh (Sahel)

Jose Sahel Towards High Resolution Vision Restoration by OptogeneticTherapy

Jose Sahel

Jose Sahel

Jose Sahel

Kunal Dansingani

Patrick J. Mayo

Patrick J. Mayo/ James Herman

Patrick J. Mayo

Patrick J. Mayo

Kun Che Chang

Kun Che Chang

Kun Che Chang

Leah Byrne

Retinal-adhesive thermoresponsive gel AAV-mediated gene delivery to the outer retina

Developing a Functional Neural Prosthetic for the Blind by Leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Computational Neuroscience, and Computer Vision

Clinical trial to test the efficacy of a neuroprosthetic to treat and cure blindness

JAEB Center for Health Research, Inc. (FFB) $212,816

U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA)

Eye Institute/ NIH $2,857,940

The Beckwith Institute $150,000

Richard King Mellon Foundation $300,000

SCH: New Advanced Machine Learning Framework for Mining Heterogeneous Ocular Data to Accelerate National Eye Institute/ NIH $74,344

Ultra high-density recordings of eye movement-related brain circuits for visual prostheses UPMC Competitive Medical Research Fund $25,000

Using brain recordings, eye tracking, and cognitive assessments to accelerate perceptual learning nad improve behavioral performance

The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust $600,000

Coordination of Eye Movements and Vision in Prefrontal Circuits Whitehall Foundation $225,000

Optogenetic dissection of inter-hemispheric frontal eye field circuits for eye movements

A new therapeutic gene for RGC survival and axon regeneration in glaucoma and optic neuropathies

Study of novel molecules for retinal ganglion cell differentiation and stem cell transplantation

A novel transcription factor for neurodegeneration therapy in glaucoma and optic neuropathy

Quantification of AAV dose-response with single cell resolution

Leah Byrne Cell type specific AAVs to study reward and cognition

Leah Byrne

New approaches for AAV-mediated gene therapy to treat albinism

Leah Byrne AAVision: Gene Therapy for retinal degeneration

Matthew Pihlblad

ROP3: A Randomized Trial of Low-Dose Bevacizumab Versus Laser for Type Retinopathy of Prematurity

National Eye Institute/ NIH $448,527

Glaucoma Research Foundation $50,000

Research to Prevent Blindness

$350,000

The Glaucoma Foundation $60,000

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health $575,000

National Eye Institute/ NIH $947,521

NOAH Research Program $25,000

Avista Therapeutics $1,872,325

JAEB Center for Health Research, Inc. (NEI) $110,097

Department Grants (continued)

Matthew Pihlblad ROP4: Bevacizumab Treatment for Posterior Type 1 Retinopathy of Prematurity

Maxwell Lohss A multi-layer injector system for epiretinal delivery of AAV gene therapy vectors

Owen Clinger Discovery of Small Molecule Chaperones for the Treatment of Myocilin-associated Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Paul Kinchington VZV vaccine attenuation and the DNA damage response

Robert Shanks Hillman Commercial Grant Application

Shaohua Pi Imaging blood oxygenation and retinal metabolism in rats with visible-light OCT

Shaohua Pi Develop real-time retinal oximetry towards the commercialization of visible-light optical coherence tomography

Shivalingappa

Ocular Surface Functions of KLF4 and KLF5

Kuwajima Kuwajima/Badylak Collaborative Project on Optic Nerve Regeneration

Xiangyun Wei

Transcriptional regulation of crb and mpp5 genes in 3D nuclear space: Coupling nuclear polarization with cell polarization at the level of transcription

Fan Liposome cysteamine carriers for eye drop formulation with long-term stability and smart release ability

Du Mechanisms of Trabecular Meshwork Regeneration by Stem Cells

Yiqin Du Bioengineering Cornea with Autologous Stem Cells

Center for Health Research, Inc. (NEI)

to Prevent Blindness

to Prevent Blindness

Eye Institute (R01)

Research Institute

Eye Institute/ NIH $1,640,000

Science Foundation

Eye Institute/

Research Spotlight: Visual Recognition with Only a Single Hemisphere?

Marlene Behrmann, PhD

Humans are capable of dramatic feats of visual perception, recognizing a single object, face, word or scene in under 250 milliseconds with little effort and extraordinary accuracy. Dr Marlene Behrmann, who joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh in July 2022, is determined to shed some light on how visual perception is accomplished by the human brain and how this ability evolves over the lifespan. One scientific approach she adopts is to study the recognition abilities of individuals whose visual processing is compromised as a result of, for example, cortical stroke, traumatic brain injury or tumor. This is akin to a reverse engineering approach: study a system when parts are dysfunctional and make inferences about the normal operation of the device.

Recently, Behrmann has received a RO1 grant from the National Eye Institute entitled “Reorganization of visual function in patients with posterior cortical research: Selectivity and plasticity.” In the context of this funding, Behrmann is currently conducting investigations with children aged 5 to 21 who have undergone surgical resection, for example, lobectomy (resection of a portion of a cortex) or hemispherectomy (removal of a hemisphere) for the treatment of pharmaco-resistant epilepsy. The primary question is whether the preserved cortical tissue is capable of ‘taking over’ the functions which would have been subserved by the resected tissue and Behrmann’s focus is on the cortical visual system and the extent to which it is plastic or malleable. Behrmann and her collaborators (PhD and MD PhD students) along with Dr Christina Patterson, epileptologist at Children’s Hospital, adopt both detailed visual behavioral testing (visual psychophysics) and neuroimaging (structural and functional MRI) to address this issue.

These studies explore the nature and extent of impairments in visual behavior in the paediatric patients and compares their findings against those of typically developing age-matched controls and matched patients who have also had surgical resections of nonvisual cortical areas. Despite the removal of a significant amount of visual cortex, the patients, who have large unilateral resections including visual cortex, typically exhibit a remarkable degree of recovery of visuo-cognitive function, particularly if the resection is performed in early childhood. This restitution of function is all the more surprising given the distinct patterns of lateralization of the two cerebral hemispheres in the normal brain. For example, in one recent paper with children with hemispherectomy, Behrmann et al. showed, unsurprisingly, that the patients have persistent

hemianopia. Intriguingly, though, their visual performance was better than one might have predicted given that they have only a single hemisphere. In this study, participants sat in front of a computer screen and a pair of words or a pair of faces was presented. Participants simply had to judge whether the two instances were the same or different. Typically, faces are processed better by the right hemisphere and words by the left hemisphere. Surprisingly, with a single hemisphere, these patients performed at about 80% accuracy and this was true for both stimulus types (words and faces) and irrespective of whether the right or left hemisphere had been resected. Although the patients’ performance was statistically inferior to that of the control group, that they were able to perform relatively well reflects the plasticity of the hemispheres and the flexibility in recruitment of the preserved hemisphere for both kinds of visual tasks.

Many other issues are being addressed in this research, including the changes in the neural basis of cortical visual function from pre- to post-surgery, and longitudinally thereafter, the specific mechanisms that give rise to recovery, the potential modulatory effects of brain regions outside the visual system, and possible biographical factors predicting recovery (e.g., age, side and size of resection). Shedding light on the neural and computational mechanisms of visual cortex may usefully inform and constrain novel approaches for intervention and rehabilitation of individuals with visuoperceptual disorders.

New Faculty

Sabrina Mukhtar, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Sabrina Mukhtar was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and at a young age moved to South East Asia. She grew up in several countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand and returned to the United States for her undergraduate degree. She received a BA in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She then attended medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before starting residency, she completed a Masters in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. During this time she worked in Dr. Ladan Espandar’s Ocular Surface Regenerative Therapy Lab. She completed her internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She completed her residency and cornea fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh in Ophthalmology.

Robert Bittner, OD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Bittner received his BA from the Pennsylvania State University and OD from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry. He then completed an optometric residency in ocular disease at the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Clinic. Dr. Bittner is board certified from the American Board of Optometry.

Nathan Isaacson, OD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Isaacson completed his undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh, received his BS in Visual Science from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and his OD from the same. He holds memberships in the National Glaucoma Society, American Optometric Society, Pennsylvania Optometric Association, American Board of Optometry (Diplomate), to name a few.

Lama Khatib, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Khatib completed a clinical pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital followed by a two-year fellowship in pediatric oculoplastics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Prior to that she was in private practice in comprehensive and pediatric ophthalmology strabismus in Beirut (2012-2015); an assistant consultant in ophthalmology at the King Faysal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh Saudi Arabia (2013), and a consultant in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus surgery, oculoplastic and orbital surgery (pediatric and adult) at the Clemenceau Medical Center in Beirut.

New Faculty (continued)

Lillian To, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. To received her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. She then went to Baylor College of Medicine for her internship. Dr. To returned to the University of Pittsburgh to complete her residency training (2018-2021). She did her fellowship training in glaucoma at the UT Houston Cizik Eye Clinic. She joined the department in November of 2022.

Shaohua

Pi, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Shaohua Pi joined the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor in 2022. Prior to this, he obtained his BS and PhD degrees from Fudan University (Shanghai, China), in 2011 and 2016, respectively. He received postdoc training in the field of Optical Coherence Tomography and Ophthalmic Imaging from the COOLLAB at Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health and Science University. He is a member of the Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is the recipient of grant awards from Knight Templar Eye Foundation and Bright Focus Foundation.

Xing Chen, PhD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Chen received her PhD in Visual Neuroscience at Newcastle University followed by a post-doctoral position and then a senior researcher in the lab of Pieter Roelfsema at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. The Chen lab develops high-channel-count, chronically implantable devices to record from and stimulate the brain. They harness cuttingedge developments in electrode fabrication and microelectronics to improve probe durability and biocompatibility, generating fundamental neuroscientific knowledge and translating results from the lab to the clinic.

Airaj Fasiuddin, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Fasiuddin received her MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. She did her internship in Internal Medicine at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia; followed by her residency at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Fasiuddin completed her fellowship training in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She then went to the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences where she was Residency Program Director and an Assistant Clinical Professor. Prior to joining the department of Ophthalmology, she was the Division Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando and the Vice Chair of Education in Ophthalmology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

ARVO Alumni and Friends Reception

April 23, 2023 • New Orleans, LA

Hilton New Orleans Riverside – Kabacoff Room

7:00 – 9:00 pm

Please RSVP by April 7, 2023 by emailing or calling Lauren Wally at wallyl@upmc.edu or 412.864.3283

Vision Research Day

June 2, 2023

Resident & Fellow Graduation

June 16, 2023

AAO Alumni and Friends Reception

November 5, 2023 • San Francisco, CA

2022 Department of Ophthalmology Publications

Save The Date Follow the Eye & Ear Foundation Online!

Want to keep up to date on all the exciting research happening in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh? Follow our social media accounts below to see pictures, articles, awards, and more highlighting all the great work taking place at your alma mater. Just click the logos to find our page!

Faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology published over 200 academic studies in 2022 across a variety of specialty areas. For a full list of publications by our faculty please click here.

Alumni Spotlight

Most important thing to you about having attended Pitt for Ophthalmology?

The mentorship that I experienced from UPMC by far would be the most important to me. It was there that I saw how to be an impactful teacher and a compassionate doctor. I could honestly go on and on with something positive I learned from all the attendings. Dr. Mammen and Dr. Conner were great at providing concrete feedback sandwiched with deadpan humor and were always available for guidance in our numerous wet lab activities. I refined much of my slit lamp skills with Dr. Harwick and will always remember her thoroughness with patients. Dr. Bonhomme was one of the most intelligent and eloquent physicians I have ever met and I was so inspired by her that I briefly even considered neuro-ophthalmology as a career choice. Dr. Nischal was charming, engaging, and an avid questioner. As a resident, I was fueled to study harder so that I could correctly answer the questions that he peppered during clinic sessions.

How has the campus/department changed since you were in school?

After I graduated, all the specialty departments expanded so much with new faculty and more satellite office locations!

What are you most excited about in the future of the department?

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio

2016

Career:

I am in academic medicine and private practice. I am a physician at Pediatric Ophthalmology Associates in Columbus, Ohio. I also serve as Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at The Ohio State University and as a member of the medical staff at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Family:

I am originally from Potomac, Maryland. I am married and have two girls, a 3.5-year-old and a 1-year-old.

Hobbies:

My hobbies include gardening (both indoor plants and square foot gardening) and trying to increase my time outdoors. I am currently trying to pursue the 1,000 hours outside challenge!

I am excited about the research towards prevention of myopia progression, as well as looking more at the genetic basis of ocular conditions in order to further create personalized medicine.

Any funny/interesting

stories from your years working or in school?

I went on a medical mission trip to Honduras during my second year of training. During a complex cataract surgery, all the electricity suddenly turned off while I was in the process of performing a critical step. This was particularly frightening for this new and somewhat timid surgeon-in-training. I took a deep breath and kept going with the light of the flashlight held over by my co-residents to help me until I could safely exit the eye.

During my time on my pediatric ophthalmology rotation, I examined a toddler who was dressed only in a diaper who decided that the best and really only place to sit in the office without crying was on my toes. I somehow managed to perform an exam on this patient. This experience, rather than being a deterrent, was actually one of the many uplifting experiences I had on my rotation that led me to become a pediatric ophthalmologist.

We Want To Hear From You!

WWith the release of our new alumni newsletter, Through the Looking Glass, we want to keep in touch with our alumni. Please share exciting personal or professional news with fellow alumni in future editions of our newsletter. Have you recently changed jobs? Got married? Published some exciting research? Welcomed a new member into your family? We want to know about it!

To update your contact information or to share personal and professional news, please visit http://ophthalmology.pitt.edu/ alumni/alumni-verification-form

Webinar Information

The Eye & Ear Foundation, in conjunction with the Departments of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh, hosts a bi-weekly webinar series entitled “Sights and Soundbites.” The webinars are presented by department faculty members and highlight their current research initiatives and treatment strategies. These webinars have proven to be an accessible and interactive way to stay connected with patients, donors, faculty, and alumni. If you would like to register to receive webinar invites, please visit www.eyeandear.org/webinars

To view recent webinar videos, please click on the links below:

Ophthalmology

• Taking the First Step: Improving Access to Care in Ophthalmology

• AMD Understanding Genetic and Behavioral Risk Factors to Develop New Therapies

• Future Directions in Artificial Intelligence for Eye Diseases

• Integrative Ophthalmology: A Holistic Approach to Eye Care

• Changing Cells: Using Optogenetics to Restore Vision

Otolaryngology

• An Update on Vertigo

• Dysphagia: A Tough Pill to Swallow

• Everything You Need to Know About Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

• A Modern Era of Excellence in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery

• Pittsburgh CREATES – Innovation in Surgery

• Hereditary Hearing Loss: New Innovations for Treatment

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The Eye & Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh is a nonprofit 501 (C)(3) organization. Our mission is to support the research and academic efforts of the Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh. Donations to support our research initiatives can be made online at eyeandear.org or by returning the enclosed envelope. For more information on the Foundation, our research, or the articles in this newsletter, please contact Katherine Troy, Director of Operations, at katherine@eyeandear.org or 412-864-1300.