The USC Roski Eye Institute celebrates 46 years of excellence in ophthalmic care at USC.

By Eric Weintraub

Dr. Mark Humayun (center) receives the Narsing A. Rao, MD Endowed Lecture Award from Drs. J. Martin Heur (left) and Narsing Rao (right). (Photo/Filgraphix)

On Saturday, June 25th, USC Roski Eye Institute faculty, alumni, and guests gathered at a symposium to celebrate 46 years of excellence in ophthalmic care at USC. The symposium provided attendees with updates on the latest aspects of ophthalmic best practices across the field, and research updates regarding recently approved therapies for ophthalmic diseases.

After two years of remote symposiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual symposium returned to being held in person at the Health Science Campus’ Aresty Conference Center. “It was great to see our friends and colleagues in-person during our annual symposium.  We had a great group of speakers who did a fantastic job and made the meeting a success,” said J. Martin Heur, MD, PhD, Interim Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology.

During the symposium, the USC Roski Eye Institute presented four awards:

• Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, received the newly established Narsing A. Rao, MD Endowed Lecture Award for his groundbreaking research in the development of the first FDA-approved artificial retina, the Argus II, for sight restoration and for leading the investigation and development of novel neural platforms to diagnose and treat patients with debilitating retinal and neurological conditions.
• Joel S. Schuman, MD, received the 2022 Laureate Award for his groundbreaking research in early detection of disease and its progression, focusing on the invention and investigation of novel diagnostics, most specifically for glaucoma. The Laureate Award represents the highest honor bestowed on an individual in recognition of their academic achievements in the preservation, protection and restoration of vision.
• David Huang, MD, PhD, was recognized as a USC Roski Distinguished Lecturer and presented a lecture entitled, “Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography.”
• David Tse, MD, was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Lecture and presented a lecture entitled, “Emerging Therapeutic Advancements in Oculoplastic Surgery: Intersection of Science and Patient Care.”

Highlighted topics included: Biomedical Engineering Applications for Ophthalmology; Therapeutic Pipeline for Dry AMD; The Future of Retinal Gene Therapy; The Management and Development of Novel Therapies for Retinal Ischemia; Advances in OCT for Glaucoma; Medical and Surgical Management of Glaucoma; Automated Biometric Imaging in Angle Closure Glaucoma; Updates in Pediatric Glaucoma; Management of Posterior Uveitis; Adventures in Liquid Biopsy for Ocular Tumors; Misdiagnosis of Eyelid Malignancy; Botulinum Toxin Use for the Treatment of Pediatric Strabismus; Telemedicine for ROP; and the Management of Myopia Progression.

This year’s speakers included guest faculty from across the country, including David Huang, MD, PhD; Firas Rahhal, MD; Joel S. Schuman, MD; Daniel Su, MD; and David T. Tse, MD. USC Roski Eye Institute and CHLA faculty who presented included Jesse Berry, MD; Alex de Castro-Abeger, MD, MBA; J. Martin Heur, MD, PhD; Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, Bibiana Jin Reiser, MD; Thomas Lee, MD; Andrew Moshfeghi, MD, MBA; Juan Carlos Martinez Camarillo, MD; Aaron Nagiel, MD, PhD; Sudha Nallasamy, MD; Angeline Nguyen, MD; Brian Toy, MD; Brandon Wong, MD; Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD; Sandy Zhang-Nunes, MD.

The symposium included a Tribute to A. Linn Murphree, MD, a Professor of Ophthalmology at USC and world-renowned ocular oncologist, who passed away in March of this year.