If there is one discovery that constituted a quantum leap in the evolution of the field of retina and ophthalmology, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is undoubtedly on the short list. Today’s retina specialists can’t imagine practicing without OCT imaging. It’s one of the first diagnostic tests obtained for the vast majority of patients, and is essential for the diagnosis and management of the most common retinal diseases, as well as the most rare. Join host Dr. Christina Weng as she traces th...
May 30, 2025•37 min
Cynthia A. Toth, MD, FASRS, has always been ahead of the curve, from being the first female surgeon to join the faculty at Duke to becoming one of the earliest researchers to use OCT to study retinal injuries. She was also one of the first to use a handheld OCT system to examine infants, and she pioneered the first intraoperative OCT-guided surgical system. Dr. Toth has helped revolutionize how doctors see and treat the retina, not only in adults, but also in our youngest and most vulnerable pat...
Apr 24, 2025•33 min
The History of Retina is pleased to welcome one of retina’s most highly esteemed ambassadors to Leaders & Legends. Dr. William F. Mieler has channeled his passion and impressive background into an illustrious career as a clinician, educator, researcher, and international leader in ophthalmology. He has served in countless leadership positions in organized ophthalmology, including president of ARVO and the Macula Society. He also founded the Advanced Vitreoretinal Technology and Techniques (A...
Mar 28, 2025•28 min
The History of Retina is pleased to welcome revered educator, surgeon, and clinician Dr. Lee Jampol to Leaders & Legends. Dr. Jampol’s remarkable career has largely centered around research trials, studying retinal diseases like diabetic retinopathy and central serous retinopathy. He has been a key player in some of the field's most pivotal trials, including the Macular Photocoagulation Study, SCORE studies, and Submacular Surgery Trials. He has also been extremely involved with the DRCR Ret...
Feb 06, 2025•29 min
Join us for an extraordinary Milestones in Retina expert panel discussion detailing the discovery and evolution of a treatment that truly revolutionized the field of retina and the lives of patients around the world – virtually overnight. That therapy is, of course, anti-VEGF. It goes without saying that there is an army of researchers, clinicians, patients and industry representatives who contributed mightily to the success of this pivotal therapy. This new Milestones segment celebrates and sha...
Sep 19, 2024•50 min
The History of Retina is pleased to share this Leaders & Legends interview featuring the extraordinary life and career of Mark Blumenkranz, MD. Dr. Blumenkranz is the HU Smead Professor Emeritus and co-director of the Ophthalmic Innovation Program at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition, he serves as manager director of Lagunita Biosciences and is co-founder and president of the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Imaging Foundation. Mark has been ...
Jul 12, 2024•32 min
Emily Y. Chew, MD, is director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications and deputy clinical director of the National Eye Institute (NEI). She is also a senior investigator and Chief of the NEI’s Clinical Trials Branch. In this Leaders & Legends interview Dr. Chew shares fascinating experiences and perspectives from her extraordinary life and career. Born in Canton, China, Dr. Chew is a first-generation American, who has blazed a trail for women in the field while building a ...
Jul 12, 2024•28 min
Unlike most kids, Eugene de Juan, Jr., preferred his toys broken. Fascinated by his ophthalmologist father’s many gadgets and his grandfather’s workshop, Gene discovered his passion for fixing things at an early age. He went on to complete his ophthalmology and vitreoretinal training at world-class institutions including the Johns Hopkins University’s Wilmer Eye Institute and Duke University, and later channeled his medical expertise into his passion for innovation. Today, when we talk about piv...
Jul 12, 2024•30 min
Leaders & Legends is pleased to share an interview with a true dynamic duo in retina: Drs. Susan and Neil Bressler. Susan and Neil’s personal and professional partnership started in their early days at John Hopkins medical school and, with thoughtful intention, they set out to build their life and careers together. They both pursued ophthalmology residency and medical retina fellowships at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, followed by duo surgical fellowships at...
May 14, 2024•40 min
Dr. Yale Fisher has had an undeniable impact on the field of retina. He led the way in the development of new techniques and instruments in the field, particularly in ultrasonography and vitreoretinal surgery. His pioneering work in ocular endoscopy has expanded the boundaries of what is possible in the field and he has shared his expertise extensively with audiences both nationally and internationally. Listen in as Dr. Fisher recalls the early 1970s, a time of extraordinary innovation in retina...
Mar 26, 2024•31 min
Dr. Stuart L. Fine is world-renowned for his leadership in ophthalmology education, research, and patient care. A pioneering investigator, Dr. Fine helped shape the field of retina through his leadership of numerous National Eye Institute (NEI)-supported, multi-centered clinical trials to evaluate new and existing treatments for retinal disease. Among the many pivotal trials he chaired are the Macular Photocoagulation Study and the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study. He also vice chaired the NE...
Feb 21, 2024•30 min
In this episode, the History of Retina welcomes retina leader and legend, Morton F. Goldberg, MD, who shares stories from his extraordinary career. Listen in as he recalls co-hosting the 1968 Arlie House Symposium on the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy with colleague Stuart Fine, MD. This groundbreaking international meeting of the world’s experts on diabetic retinopathy led to a major revolution in care for patients with the disease that had previously led to irreversible blindness. The Sympo...
Jan 04, 2024•30 min
Since its founding in 1982, the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) has grown exponentially in size and influence, making it a powerful national advocate and primary source of clinical and scientific information and education for its members. It does, in fact, represent all things retina. Listen in as ASRS founders, Drs. Jerald Bovino, Roy Levit and Allen Verne, discuss their quest to create an open, egalitarian organization to serve the ongoing professional, educational and social nee...
Jun 05, 2023•39 min
Daniel Martin, MD, FASRS, has focused much of his extraordinary career on the design and execution of clinical trials to evaluate new drugs and therapeutic strategies for retinal disease. He has been – and is still -- at the helm of some of the most influential retina research of our time. His contributions have not only guided treatment practices, but have built a framework on which future research will be undertaken. In this compelling discussion, Dr. Martin details his early work on transform...
Feb 13, 2023•33 min
Few people have thought as deeply about retina’s most perplexing questions as Richard Spaide, MD. He is a brilliant innovator and ‘retinal philosopher’ whose research and novel theories on the pathophysiology of retinal disorders have spawned nearly 400 peer-reviewed publications, including many of the most-cited and influential papers in the field. Listen in as Dr. Spaide discusses his professional journey, his proudest accomplishments and the inspiration behind many of his most notable papers....
Feb 06, 2023•27 min
Beyond his operating room wizardry and passion for patient care, Donald J. D’Amico, MD, FASRS, is recognized for his gift of oratory which has made him a world-renowned lecturer, moderator and educator. In this compelling interview, Dr. D’Amico recounts fascinating stories of his early days in practice, including his experience operating with the Freeman/Schepens inversion table, and what he wants the next generation to know about those who led the way in the early days of retina. Learn more at ...
Nov 22, 2022•32 min
A recognized pioneer in retinal imaging, Lawrence A. Yannuzzi, MD, is a revered practitioner and educator who has earned an international reputation for his keen observational skills, inquisitive mind and the ability to publish findings at lightning speed. In this Leaders & Legends interview, Dr. Yannuzzi shares interesting insights into his career, including ‘stalking’ his mentor, Dr. Donald Gass, during residency and his early involvement with fluorescein angiography. Listen as he discusse...
Nov 22, 2022•28 min
In this inspiring interview you’ll hear from the remarkable Carol L. Shields, MD, FASRS, a true pioneer in every sense of the word. Listen in as she recalls her childhood making house calls with her physician father, her years captaining Notre Dame’s first championship varsity women's basketball team, her induction into the Academic Hall of Fame, to her extraordinary personal and professional journey with husband Jerry. This world-renowned power duo has defined the field of ocular oncology and t...
Nov 10, 2022•30 min
Retina pioneer and innovator Gary W. Abrams, MD, FASRS, discusses his inspiring professional journey spanning numerous groundbreaking advancements in the field, from the advent of the air pump and endolaser, to gas, silicone oil, perfluorocarbon liquid, vitrectomy and wide-angle viewing. Listen as he recalls his memorable job interview with Robert Machemer, MD, and the ‘Aaberg-Abrams’ years that built the Medical College of Wisconsin into a powerhouse of innovation in the 1980s. Learn more at ww...
Sep 27, 2022•27 min
In 1971, Dr. Robert Machemer, Anton Banko and Jean-Marie Parel designed the vitreous infusion cutter (VISC), one of the first commercially available instruments to remove vitreous during a vitrectomy. Shortly thereafter, Mark Mandelcorn, MD, FRCSC, arrived at Bascom Palmer from Toronto and became Dr. Machemer’s first fellow, working directly alongside him and Bascom’s trailblazing faculty. In this interview, ASRS History of Retina Co-Chair Timothy G. Murray, MD, MBA, FASRS, talks with Dr. Mandel...
Sep 27, 2022•38 min
A fascinating conversation with Dr. Harry Flynn who recounts his stellar career. A visionary surgeon who has introduced numerous innovations and new technologies to the operating room, he discusses the evolution of small-gauge surgery, his collaborations with the legendary Jean-Marie Parel, Ing. ETS-G, PhD, his love of research, working with residents and fellows and the coming of age of the ASRS. Learn more at www.retinahistory.asrs.org . About the History of Retina The History of Retina is bro...
Sep 27, 2022•31 min
An extraordinary look back with George Williams, MD, FASRS, who discusses his experience during the Aaberg-Abrams era at the Medical College of Wisconsin, his groundbreaking exploration of pharmacological ways to manipulate the vitreous and the birth of retinal pharmacology. A staunch crusader on behalf of retina, Dr. Williams is a recognized health policy expert who shares interesting insights on the business of retina past and present. Learn more at www.retinahistory.asrs.org . About the Histo...
Sep 27, 2022•30 min
Audina Berrocal, MD, FASRS, is one of the world’s leading experts in the surgical management of retinopathy of prematurity and pediatric vitreoretinal disorders. She is also the youngest daughter of Jose Berrocal, MD, who was the first retina fellow at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in 1963 and went on to be the first retina surgeon in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. In this Leaders & Legends segment, Dr. Berrocal shares details about her extraordinary upbringing during which she and her sis...
Sep 27, 2022•28 min
Since vision issues and blindness were first diagnosed and documented, scientists have sought a cure. In this video, ASRS Foundation President Timothy G. Murray, MD, MBA, FASRS, talks with Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized pioneer in vision restoration who assembled a multidisciplinary team of experts to develop the first FDA-approved artificial retina, Argus II, for sight restoration. Drs. Murray and Humayun discuss what inspired the invention of the artificial retina, the...
Sep 27, 2022•36 min
History of Retina Co-director Kirk H. Packo, MD, FASRS, hosts an all-star panel of retina giants, who recount the coming of age of vitrectomy surgery. Listen in as Drs. Thomas Aaberg, Sr., Gary Abrams, Steve Charles, Gene de Juan, and Wayne Fung share their compelling first-hand accounts of vitrectomy from the early days of open sky and the Vail Vitrectomy Course through the monumental advances of the ‘Roaring 80’s’ to today’s era of advanced visualization and micro-incisional surgery. Learn mor...
Sep 27, 2022•45 min
In this interview with one of retina’s true giants, Mike Trese, MD, details his remarkable 45-year career spearheading revolutionary developments in both pediatric and adult retina. He shares the challenges of navigating blinding diseases with the youngest and most vulnerable patients and the amazing advances that have increased the success rate for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) from 50% to 90%. He also touches on his strong desire to make a contribution to the field and to his patients that ...
Sep 27, 2022•31 min
An extraordinary conversation with Thomas Aaberg Sr., MD, FASRS, and son Thomas Aaberg Jr., MD, who share a rare look inside the early years in retina. Tom Aaberg Sr., discusses his remarkable career, early innovations that moved the needle, and his friendship and collaborations with Robert Machemer, MD. Tom Aaberg Jr., MD, adds his recollections from growing up with a ring-side seat during the early evolution of vitrectomy and the development of his own remarkable career in retina. Learn more a...
Sep 27, 2022•33 min
Invention of the vitreous infusion suction cutter (VISC) for vitrectomy surgery revolutionized the field of retina in the 1970s. Now, more than 50 years later, the VISC remains central to every retinal surgeons armamentarium and no one is more surprised than the man behind its development -- Jean-Marie Parel, Ing.ETS-G, PhD, FARVO. In this extraordinary conversation, Dr. Parel traces his journey to the United States, discusses his introduction to Edward Norton, MD, his pivotal partnership with R...
Sep 27, 2022•37 min
Few stories in our field are as unique as that of the Berrocal’s, a multigenerational retina tour de force. In this Leaders & Legends segment, Maria Berrocal, MD, FASRS, daughter of the late Jose Berrocal, MD, an internationally renowned retina pioneer who was the first retina surgeon in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, shares stories about her extraordinary upbringing during which she and her sister Audina, an internationally recognized retina surgeon in her own right, mingled with a who’s wh...
Sep 27, 2022•27 min
It would be hard to imagine retina surgery today without the contributions of Steve Charles, MD, FACS, FICS, FASRS . Over the course of his amazing career, he has amassed over 100 patents, introducing among other things, scissor segmentation, the linear vacuum, disposable cutters, retinectomy, the Ocutome 8000, and ‘medium term PFO.’ Listen as he discusses his love of engineering and medicine, his insatiable appetite for learning and passion for innovation that have revolutionized retina instrum...
Sep 27, 2022•31 min
