Open Globe Talk

In this episode, we meet with the OGT team and gather perspectives on exposure to global ophthalmology during medical school.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Eve Higginbotham, SM MD ML, a renowned glaucoma specialist and professor of ophthalmology at the Scheie Eye Institute. Among the many roles she serves, she is also the inaugural vice dean for the Penn Medicine Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. She is also the senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Insitute for Health Economics and a Board member of Ascension's finance and audit committees. Dr. Higginbotham maintains a strong background in serving the community not just at the local level but also at the federal level. A graduate of Harvard medical school and someone who carries a Master of Law from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Higginbotham shares her thoughts on how we can develop inclusive environments in our medical community. As we discuss this matter, we hope that our listeners will start thinking upstream and at the population level to serve our collective patient community!

For our season finale, we have the pleasure of being joined by Dr. Ike Ahmed, a renowned specialist in glaucoma. Dr. Ahmed holds various positions in both academia and private practice, including serving as the director of the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation and as the Chief Innovation Officer and former Medical Director of Prism Eye Institute in Canada. His contributions to the field of ophthalmology are widely recognized, particularly for his development of tools and techniques like Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, which has revolutionized the treatment of glaucoma. We are truly grateful to have innovators like Dr. Ahmed driving progress in this field, and we extend our sincere thanks to him for joining us on the show today! For more podcast episodes please visit: https://www.openglobetk.com/

Welcome back to Open globe talk, this is your host, Rizul Naithani and I am joined today with Dr. Jullia A. Rosdahl, an incredible glaucoma specialist and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Duke Eye Center.  Dr. Rosdahl obtained her medical education and PhD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her ophthalmology residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She then completed her glaucoma fellowship from the Duke Eye Center. As this recording was conducted in February, we want to acknowledge Black History Month and also celebrate all the women physicians who have furthered the medical field. Please join us in this incredibly important discussion on what it is like to have supportive mentorship and also how we can conduct patient education to be better humans for our patients.

Welcome back to Open globe talk, this is your host, Rizul Naithani and I am joined today with Dr. Craig Chaya who is an assistant clinical professor at University of Utah and the division chief of it global ophthalmology department. Dr. Chaya completed medical school at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and an Ophthalmology residency at Texas Tech University. He completed two ophthalmology fellowships. An international ophthalmology fellowship as a Freedom Foundation Fellow through the Himalayan Cataract Project in Nepal. Another in Glaucoma at the University of Utah. Dr. Chaya’s global work has encompassed work in Nepal, Thailand, Haiti, Ghana, Guam, and Micronesia. His research interests are in preventing global blindness and developing novel glaucoma surgery devices with specific attention to customized and holistic care. As one of the prominent leaders in global ophthalmology, we are very glad to have him here with us today and learn about the sustainable approaches to how we can better our healthcare delivery systems.

We are joined by not one but TWO incredible guests from the University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Schneider is the Graduate Medical Education program administrator and Mrs. Hannah Baker is the senior graduate medical education program manager. Both of them are integral in the management of the global ophthalmology curriculum at UW-Madison. With DOVS unique global health curriculum integrated during residency, this is not the episode to miss for aspiring changemakers and global ophthalmologists! For our video version, check out this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/yhPmX7hnFU8

Episode 31 features Dr. Oluwatosin Smith, MD, a renowned glaucoma specialist based at the Glaucoma Associates of Texas in Dallas. Dr. Smith is also an acclaimed global ophthalmologist who serves on the board of the 'Cure Glaucoma Foundation'. She is also an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern. Dr. Smith obtained her MBBS from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria graduating with the Andrew Blair Aitken's Prize in Surgery. She completed her ophthalmology residency from Howard University graduating with the outstanding resident for the class of 2002 award. Thereafter, Dr. Smith obtained her glaucoma specialty training at the Wills Eye Hospital. In this segment, we discuss multiple aspects of global glaucoma work which includes research and service. We also go through Dr. Smith's path in ophthalmology and what the 'Cure Glaucoma Foundation' is!

Episode 30 is a special segment featuring Dr. Keith J Wroblewski, who is a retired colonel from the US Army and an associate professor as well as Vice Chair of Education at the George Washington University department of Ophthalmology. As we discuss Dr. Wroblewski’s work in both military medicine and the civilian world, we want to also thank all the armed men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line so that our nation could be safe each and every day. Dr. Wroblewski is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and served four years with the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado as an Infantry Officer. Dr. Wroblewski then pursued his medical education from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine after which he trained in ophthalmology from Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State. After residency, Dr. Wroblewski trained through 2 fellowship subspecialties: 1) Ocular Inflammation and Uveitis at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda 2) Ocular Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Dr. Wroblewski has served as the chair of Ophthalmology at the Walter Reed Army/National Military Medical Centers and has been the Chief of Surgery at Fort Meade, Maryland serving in the following countries: Korea, Bosnia, Germany, Iraq, and the states of Colorado and Washington. He has also serviced in multiple medical missions inclusive of countries such as Kenya, Mauritania, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guatemala. With an incredible array of experiences, not surprisingly, Dr. Wroblewski has been endowed with many prestigious awards such as the Saint Lucia Medal from the Society of Military Ophthalmology.

We are pleased to host Dr. Adrian Fung, MBBS (Hons1), MMed (Ophthal Sci), MMed (Clin Epi), FRANZCO, who is one of Australia's leading vitreoretinal surgeon and medical retina specialist. Dr. Fung is currently the professor at Macquarie University Hospital and a clinical associate professor at the University of Sydney. He is also the head of vitreoretinal unit at Westmead hospital. Having completed international fellowships at institutions inclusive of University of British Columbia, Manhattan Eye and Ear, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and Wills Eye, we have an incredibly well-travelled guest to speak with. In this segment, we will not only learn about Dr. Fung's journey, the Australian medical system pertaining to ophthalmology, but also how Dr. Fung co-founded 'Vitreoretinal Surgery Online', an expansive online textbook addressing growing topics in retina! Join us for this discussion and an opportunity to explore a new continent!

In this episode, we are excited to feature Dr. Uday Devgan, MD also known as the 'Cataract coach'! He is an international expert in ocular surgery, ranking #1 in southern California and #3 in the US. He specializes in cataract, refractive lens implant, and LASIK. With over 13 million views on his YouTube channel, Dr. Devgan has added tremendously to the skill sharing required of being a dedicated and proficient ophthalmologist. His 'Back to Basics' monthly feature is disbursed to over 80,000 ophthalmologists around the globe. Dr. Devgan currently practices at Devgan Eye Surgery in Los Angeles and is a full partner at Specialty Surgical Center of Beverly Hills. He has served as a clinical professor at Jules Stein Eye Institute UCLA and has been the Chief of Ophthalmology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. He has been awarded the annual ophthalmology faculty teaching award at UCLA a record 5 times! A true leader in ophthalmology, we are incredibly excited to host him on this episode and learn about his thoughts on how to be the best version of ourselves in ophthalmology.