Summer 2024 Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Summer 2024 edition of the Department of Ophthalmology InSight Newsletter. In this issue we welcome our our new residents and fellows, who joined us in July. Our residency program continues to be one of the most competitive in the country. And our strong fellowship programs in retina, oculplastics, uveitis, and pediatrics will expand with new programs in glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmology in 2025-26.
The research spotlight in this issue shines on two recent impactful projects by our faculty.
The first is Professor and Klorfine Family Endowed Chair Dr. Cecilia Lee’s work summarized in a recently published paper in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, which details progress to detecting Alzheimer’s disease early with home testing of retinal changes linked to dementia. Dr. Lee and her colleagues previously found a significant link between dementia and age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
The second is a grant awarded to Assistant Professor Dr. Debarshi Mustafi and Adjunct Associate Professor Dr. Tim Cherry of Seattle Children’s from Seattle Children’s Research Institute to determine the genetic causes of unsolved inherited retinal diseases (IRD). Leveraging clinical expertise and research capabilities, the collaborative effort of Drs. Cherry and Mustafi seek to unlock insights into IRDs and explore gene editing therapeutic strategies.
In our patient care feature, we highlight our ocular oncology service led by Associate Professor Dr. Andrew Stacey. Our department is fortunate to have the expertise of Dr. Stacey, the only full-time ocular oncologist in the WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho). His service manages all types of ocular tumors from conjunctiva to choroid.
In our education spotlight, learn about our clerkship program for medical students, which is led by Assistant Professor Dr. Shu Feng. The clerkship gives medical students an introduction to ophthalmology and our residency program.
Finally, in our philanthropy spotlight, we were honored to present the Roger Johnson Award for Macular Degeneration Research to Dr. Raj Apte of Washington University in St. Louis at the 50th Resident Alumni Day on June 15. Learn more about the award created with a generous gift from Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson and Dr. Apte’s research.
On behalf of the department, thank you for your continuing support of our mission to alleviate suffering from eye disease. Please visit our website at ophthalmology.washington.edu and our new Facebook and Instagram pages for more news and updates.
Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD,
Boyd K. Bucey Chair, UW Medicine Department of Ophthalmology
Director, Roger and Angie Karalis Johnson Retina Center
Director, Vision Science Center