First-year resident receives honor for research paper at AAO meeting

First-year Ophthalmology resident Deborah Im, MD, was recently honored for a research paper she was first author and co-wrote while in medical school at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. She presented the paper at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in San Francisco, and it was selected as the best podium presentation at that AAO session.  

“It was a surprise,” Im said. “I had forgotten that they gave such an award. I was the only junior resident that presented during that session.”

The paper, “A Multicenter Analysis of Nucleic Acid Quantification Using Aqueous Humor Liquid Biopsy in Retinoblastoma,” was published in Ophthalmology Science in February 2023. One of the co-authors was Andrew Stacey, MD, associate professor of ophthalmology and an ocular oncology specialist.

Retinoblastoma is the most common ocular cancer in children. It can only be diagnosed by viewing the eye and not via biopsy because of the risk of metastasis. This study investigated using aqueous humor (AH), the fluid in front of the eye, as a surrogate tumor biopsy.

“Four different children’s hospitals sent us aqueous humor samples from children with retinoblastoma, and from children without retinoblastoma,” Im said. It was the first large and multicenter study, with 125 samples, investigating aqueous humor liquid biopsy in retinoblastoma.”

The study concluded that aqueous humor was a reliable source of genetic material in children with retinoblastoma. Further, genomic analysis of aqueous humor may be helpful in diagnosing active retinoblastoma disease, especially when the view to the eye is obstructed, such as when there is blood or cataract in the eye.

Im attended the Keck School of Medicine at USC. She completed a research year with the Wright Foundation and her mentor Jesse Berry, MD, after her third year of medical school.

“I was interested in ophthalmology because vision is a complicated pathway and there is a lot of gratification working with patients to protect and care for their sight,” Im said. “I did a rotation as a medical student and enjoyed the precision of it and being able to visualize the pathology and the possibility to intervene with surgery.”

Raised in the Pasadena area, she studied microbiology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“I didn’t initially think I would go to medical school, but I knew I wanted to work with people and have a great impact through my education. I am so happy to be at the University of Washington. I rotated here as a medical student, and my experience here has been amazing because of my co-residents and our faculty being so invested in our teaching.”