Up Close and Personal with 2001 Award Winners

David A. DiLoreto, MD, PhD

I have worked at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Flaum Eye Insitute since completing my fellowship in medical and surgical retina at Wilmer Eye Institute. Currently, I am Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology. I have adjunct positions in the Center for Visual Sciences, University of Rochester and at the University at Buffalo/SUNY.

My current research includes visual restoration using stem cell transplantation in a primate model of retinal degeneration, using in vivo adaptive optics to visual and follow these transplants, and working toward human studies in diseases that include Age-related Macular Degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa.

I enjoy spending time with my family on Lake Ontario, tennis, and cooking.

Darius M. Moshfeghi, MD

Darius M. Moshfeghi, MD, is Professor and Chief of Retina at the Byers Eye Institute at the Stanford University School of Medicine where he founded the vitreoretinal fellowship program. He established the Stanford University Network for the Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (SUNDROP) network in 2005 and has led the Telemedicine for ROP screening program (TeleROP) collaboration between Stanford University and Pediatrix since 2017, providing ROP screening coverage for >2% of USA neonatal intensive care units.

His entrepreneurial work centers around telemedicine applications in eye health: he founded and was Chairman of Placid0 until its acquisition by Waldo, Inc., in November of 2021, served on the Board of directors of 1800 Contacts until its acquisition by KKR in November of 2020.

Dr. Moshfeghi was inducted into the 2021 class of the Retina Hall of Fame and is a member of the Club Jules Gonin, Retina Society, Macula Society, American Society of Retinal Specialists, and the Association of Pediatric Retinal Specialists.

Saad A. Shaikh, MD

After a few years in private practice, I completed a Healthcare Management M.B.A. and joined academia full time. I was founding faculty at the UCF College of Medicine and subsequently founded the retina service and the visual electrophysiology laboratory at the Orlando VA Hospital. I've also helped establish the Nemours Pediatric Ophthalmology Clinic and the UCF Health Eye Clinic in Orlando and am the founding program director for our retina fellowship. I hold several ophthalmology professorships including UCF, Howard University, UTMB Galveston, and USF.

My research interests currently focus on machine learning in retinal imaging and disease and nanoparticle therapy for retinal diseases. I also have an interest in teaching and philosophy/mindfulness as it applies to medicine and surgery and have written a book for my residents on the subject called The Wisdom of the Knife, Zen in the Art of Surgery.

My personal interests include reading, fitness, yoga, photography, and travel.