2025 USC Roski Eye Institute Annual Report_FinalV2

Keck School of Medicine of USC

DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

2025 Annual Report

MESSAGE FROM THE LEADERSHIP J. MARTIN HEUR, MD, PhD and MARK HUMAYUN, MD, PhD

In 2025, the USC Roski Eye Institute furthered our mission of providing exceptional patient care while advancing the field of ophthalmology through innovative research and training programs.

Our commitment to advancing medicine and science enables us to deliver innovative treatments for complex eye diseases that are rarely available elsewhere in the community. This expertise has earned us a reputation as the leading referral center for private practice physicians across Southern California, particularly for rare and challenging ocular cases. We remain dedicated to upholding their trust in the coming years.

In FY 2024, the USC Department of Ophthalmology was ranked #3 nationally in NIH research funding among all ophthalmology departments. This achievement highlights the strength and impact of our faculty’s research programs, which continue to advance therapeutic and diagnostic innovations that shape the future of eye care.

“… As we look ahead, we remain dedicated to advancing eye care through world-class clinical services, comprehensive training programs, and cutting-edge research. ”

The USC Ophthalmology Residency Program remains strong and continues to earn national recognition. In July 2025, USC entered into a new Medical School Affiliation Agreement with Los Angeles General Medical Center (LAG). This partnership ensures that our residents continue to benefit from the exceptional training setting at LAG, which is supported by USC faculty, LAG-employed clinicians, and USC voluntary faculty. We are especially grateful to our distinguished alumni, who serve as voluntary faculty and generously contribute their time and expertise. Their mentorship and guidance play a vital role in shaping the next generation of ophthalmology leaders. None of these achievements would be possible without the exceptional collaboration and dedication of our entire USC Roski Eye Institute community. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed to supporting our mission.

As we look ahead, we remain dedicated to advancing eye care through world-class clinical services, comprehensive training programs, and cutting-edge research.

J. Martin Heur, MD, PhD

Professor and Chair

Grace and Emery Beardsley

Professor of Ophthalmology

Co-Director, USC Roski Eye Institute

USC Department of Ophthalmology

Keck Medicine of USC

Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD

University Professor

Slivinski Chair in Macular Degeneration

Research Director, USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics

Co-Director, USC Roski Eye Institute

(Photo/Filgraphix)

Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, (pictured with Dean Carolyn Meltzer of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and USC Interim President Beong-Soo Kim) was installed as the Dennis and Michele Slivinski Chair in Macular Degeneration Research. Dr. Humayun is the co-inventor of Argus II, which offers functional sight to those with complete retinal blindness. He was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Engineering for his pioneering work to restore sight.

CELEBRATING 49 YEARS OF PRESERVING, PROTECTING AND RESTORING SIGHT

Faculty, alumni, and guests gathered on Saturday, June 14th, 2025, to celebrate 49 years of excellence in ophthalmic care at USC.

Nearly five decades of groundbreaking eye care came into focus Saturday, June 14, 2025, as the USC Roski Eye Institute marked its 49th year of ophthalmic excellence. The annual symposium connected faculty, alumni and guests through presentations on newly approved treatments and emerging therapeutic approaches.

“The Annual Symposium gives our faculty, many of whom are key opinion leaders, an opportunity to showcase their ground breaking work,” said Dr. J. Martin Heur, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology.

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

• Hiroshi Goto, MD, PhD received the 2025 Narsing A. Rao MD Endowed Lecture Award for his groundbreaking basic and clinical research in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Vogt-KoyanagiHarada disease, sympathetic ophthalmia and viral uveitis, and ocular tumors.

• Daniel F. Martin, MD, received the 2025 Laureate Award for his life-long commitment to preserving and saving sight through managing retinal diseases and conducting numerous clinical trials. The award represents the highest honor bestowed on an individual in recognition of their academic achievements in the preservation, protection, and restoration of vision.

• David A. DiLoreto, Jr., MD, PhD, received the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his dedicated service and commitment to excellent in resident and fellow education.

Highlighted topics featured at the symposium included: Artificial Intelligence and Glaucoma Detection; Saliency Analysis of Eye Tracking Using Generative AI to Assess Cortical Visual Impairment Severity; What We’ve Learned About Uveitis from Big Data; Telehealth and Pediatric Eyecare; Gene Therapy for Retinal Degenerations; Endpoints for Geographic Atrophy; Bringing Aqueous Tumor Markers to Clinical Care; Artificial Retinal Implants for Vision Restoration; Whole Eye Transplantation; and Optic Nerve Regeneration.

USC ROSKI EYE INSTITUTE HOSTS INTERNATIONAL SURGICAL SKILLS COURSE

The USC Roski Eye Institute welcomed surgeons, fellows and residents from around the world June 6-7 for one of the most sought-after oculoplastics training programs in the United States.

The USC Roski Eye Institute welcomed surgeons, fellows and residents from around the world June 6-7 for one of the most soughtafter oculoplastics training programs in the United States: “The Cutting Edge: The USC Oculofacial Plastic Surgery Surgical Skills Course.”

Now in its seventh iteration since 2015, the course is held every 18 months and has rapidly gained recognition for its unique approach to surgical education. Unlike traditional surgical skills courses that rely on videos or simulation devices, The Cutting Edge provides participants with the opportunity to practice on fresh human tissue, offering an authentic learning environment.

The course audience includes trainees from plastic surgery, ENT head and neck, and oculofacial plastic surgery, both at the training level and even afterwards in practice. This mix of specialties bridges the divide and enhances everyone’s learning.

“We keep this course truly cutting edge, by incorporating new techniques and the latest

technology,” said Sandy Zhang-Nunes, MD, founder and course director of The Cutting Edge and clinical associate professor of ophthalmology (voluntary) at USC. “We bring diverse faculty together for a meeting of the minds and hands.”

The two-day program is designed to maximize both learning outcomes and tissue conservation. Day one begins with blepharoplasty and canthoplasty techniques, filler injections, optic nerve sheath fenestration procedures, then moves on to orbital decompression and orbital plating; while day two concludes with corneal neurotization, endoscopic DCR, aesthetic brow lifting, facial fat transfer, and advanced face-lifting techniques.

“The course is structured for participants at all levels of training,” said Dr. Ava Torjani, an ophthalmology resident.

The course audience includes trainees from plastic surgery, ENT head and neck, and oculofacial plastic surgery. The Cutting Edge continues to attract international attention as medical professionals seek advanced training opportunities.

Surgeons, Fellows and Residents from Around the World Gathered at the Health Sciences Campus for the Two-Day Course (Photo/Eric Weintraub)

USC ROSKI EYE INSTITUTE OFFERS

VISION SCREENINGS AT

LA TIMES

FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

Roski provided 100 vision screenings to attendees at the 2025 LA Times Festival of Books.

The USC Roski Eye Institute provided 100 free vision screenings to attendees at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held Saturday, April 26, 2025 on USC’s University Park Campus.

Volunteers from Roski set up the booth at the festival’s Hero Complex row, where staff and medical students fielded questions from attendees while physicians provided medical advice.

“We saw a lot of patients, especially patients with cataracts and things that should get worked up,” said Kyle Bolo, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology. “It was a very productive day.”

The annual literary event also offered USC medical students practical experience administering basic eye exams to community members.

“It’s great to apply what I’m learning in medical school and give back,” said Chris How, a second-year USC medical student. “This event gives me the chance to spend time with classmates and faculty and get to know the people in my community.”

Festival attendees left with information about prescription glasses, various eye conditions and treatment options – especially essential information for attendees without health insurance.

Madi Dela Gente, a USC undergraduate majoring in neuroscience who works as an optometric technician in the USC Village eye clinic, emphasized the importance of community outreach.

“I think it’s really important to provide screenings and interventions to the local community, increasing accessibility healthcarewise,” she said. “I appreciate interacting with patients and giving back to the community. The LA Times Festival of Books is always a fun event and I’m excited I get to be a part of it.”

USC ROSKI EYE INSTITUTE HOSTS INAUGURAL RESIDENT RESEARCH DAY

Ophthalmology held its inaugural Resident Research Day to showcase graduating senior research.

The USC Roski Eye Institute held its inaugural Resident Research Day on June 13, providing graduating senior residents an opportunity to showcase research conducted during the past academic year.

Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, PhD, opened the program with a presentation emphasizing the importance of research work amongst residents and physicians. “You are the ones who know what research questions to ask,” Gokoffski said. “You are the ones that are uniquely positioned to know what medical needs are out there, what solutions are plausible, and which conditions should be prioritized.”

Third-year resident Yicheng Bao, MD, began the resident portion of the event by presenting his study on oral doxycycline treatment for ocular syphilis. Bao said he was motivated by treating patients at Los Angeles General Medical Center who required inpatient IV penicillin despite critical bed shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The lack of inpatient availability highlighted the need for effective outpatient alternatives in a low-resource setting,” Bao said.

Dr. Victor Eng, also a third-year resident, presented two-year outcomes for patients with diabetic vitreous hemorrhage. “My project was inspired by the most common diagnoses we encounter on [Emergency Department] consults,” Eng said.

Third-year resident Dr. Mark Phillips discussed agreement and accuracy in distinguishing papilledema from pseudopapilledema among pediatric neuro-ophthalmologists.

Dr. Alexander Tseng concluded the resident presentations with research on ethnic differences in intraocular pressure determinants. “We identified significant interaction effects between ethnicity and certain factors in relation to their effects on intraocular pressure.”

The research day took place the night before the residents’ commencement ceremony as they prepared to begin subspecialty training programs across the country.

The Department of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine, ranked #3 in NIH funding, is dedicated to pioneering groundbreaking solutions in vision care. Our distinguished faculty are empowered to lead innovative research, shaping the future of ophthalmology and enhancing patient care.

ACTIVE RESEARCH FUNDING

as of December 2025

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR PROJECT

Hossein Ameri, MD, PhD

NAC Attack, a phase-3, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Jesse Berry, MD Validation of an aqueous humor liquid biopsy for molecular prognostication and monitoring of children with retinoblastoma

SPONSOR

NIH/NEI

NIH/NCI

Jesse Berry, MD Aqueous Humor liquid biopsy biomarker exploration in uveal melanoma. MRA

Kyle Bolo, MD Validation of Informatics-Based Phenotyping for Glaucoma Identification in a Screening Population AGS

Melinda Chang, MD Validating a machine learning model of eye tracking in children with cortical visual impairment (CVI)

David Cobrinik, MD, PhD Production and progression of premalignant retinoblastoma lesions

NIH/NEI

NIH/NCI

David Cobrinik, MD, PhD Predictive Medicine Inherited Retinal Dystrophy Gene Correction Program KTEF

Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, PhD Microtubule-Based Transport in Lacrimal Gland Function

Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, PhD Protein-polymer nanomedicine for Sjogren's Syndrome

Martin Heur, MD, PhD

AI-Driven Aqueous Humor Proteomics Atlas for Early Diagnosis of Uveal Melanoma

Martin Heur, MD, PhD Research to Prevent Blindness Unrestricted Grant

Mark Humayun, MD, PhD

Mark Humayun, MD, PhD

Xuejuan Jiang, PhD

Xuejuan Jiang, PhD

Xuejuan Jiang, PhD

Gianluca Lazzi, PhD, MBA

A Phase IIb Multicenter, Clinical Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of the CPCB-RPE1 Implant in Subjects with Advanced, Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration Known as Geographic Atrophy

IND-enabling program for PRPE-SF, the secretome from polarized stem cellderived RPE cells, for the treatment of dry-age related macular degeneration

NIH/NEI

NIH/NEI

RPB

RPB

Marcus Foundation

Integrating Genetics and Epigenetics to the Study of Smoking's Effect on Children's Vision TRDRP

Intrauterine exposure to tobacco smoke, DNA methylation, and vision disorders in preschool children

Imaging Cerebral Small Vessels in Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID)

Mesoscale correlative light-electron microscopy (CLEM) computational pathoconnectomes of degenerated retinas

Gianluca Lazzi, PhD, MBA GCR: Reprogramming Biological Neural Networks with Field-Based Engineered Systems

Sun Young Lee, MD, PhD

Sun Young Lee, MD, PhD

Extracellular Vesicle Therapy for Diabetic Retinopathy

Extracellular vesicle-based intraocular therapy combined with active targeting of ocular neovascularization

NIH/NEI

NIH/NIA

NIH/NEI

NSF

NIH/NEI

NIH/NEI

Sun Young Lee, MD, PhD

Longwei Liu, PhD

Biraj Mahato, PhD

Biraj Mahato, PhD

Aaron Nagiel, MD, PhD

A Phase 2b, Randomized, Assessor-Masked Clinical Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of the CPCB-RPE1 Implant in Subjects with Geographic Atrophy CIRM

Development of single fluorophore biosensors for multiplex imaging of CAR T Signaling

NIH/NIBIB

Chemically reprogrammed Müller cell derived retinal ganglion cells to study and treat optic nerve hypoplasia KTEF

Chemically engineered photoreceptors for vision restoration in retinal degeneration associated blindness CIRM

Lats kinase inhibition for retinal regeneration The Retina Society

Aaron Nagiel, MD, PhD Assembly and Maintenance of the Human Photoreceptor-Bipolar Cell Synapse ARI

Mahnaz Shahidi, PhD Imaging of Retinal Oxygen Metabolism in Diabetic Retinopathy

Mahnaz Shahidi, PhD Retinal Ischemia Treatment by Oxygen Nanobubbles

Mahnaz Shahidi, PhD

Two-photon Imaging of Oxygen and Blood Flow in Retinal and Cerebral Vasculature

Mahnaz Shahidi, PhD Center Core Grant for Vision Research

Brian Toy, MD

Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD

Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD

Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD

Benjamin Xu, MD, PhD

Liya Xu, PhD

Qifa Zhou, PhD

Qifa Zhou, PhD

Health Disparities in the Development, Persistence, and Progression of Uveitis and Ocular Inflammation in the United States

NIH/NEI

NIH/NEI

NIH/NINDS

NIH/NEI

NIH/NEI

Personalized Patient-Centered Eye Care Using Telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence The Donaghue Foundation

Addressing the Glaucoma Care Crisis Using Telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence RPB

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Enhance the Access and Equity of Glaucoma Care BrightFocus Foundation

Clinical Evaluation and Risk Stratification of Angle Closure Disease Using Quantitative OCT

Establishing Cutoff for Minimal Residual Intraocular Disease in Retinoblastoma Using Extracellular Vesicles from Aqueous Humor Liquid Biopsy

Biomechanical mapping of the optic nerve head and peripapillary sclera using high frequency ultrasonic elastography

High Resolution Ultrasound in Interventional Radiology

Qifa Zhou, PhD Pediatric Volumetric Ultrasound Scanner

Qifa Zhou, PhD

Qifa Zhou, PhD

High-Resolution Flow Imaging of Optic Nerve Head and Retrolaminar Microvascular Circulation

Sonogenetic Restoration of Vision for Retinitis Pigmentosa

NIH/NEI

DOD

NIH/NEI

NIH/NCI

NIH/NIBIB

NIH/NEI

NIH/NEI

AGS (American Glaucoma Society) • ARI (Alcon Research Institute) • CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) • DOD (Department of Defense) • KTEF (Knights Templar Eye Foundation) • MRA (Melanoma Research Alliance) • NCI (National Cancer Institute) • NEI (National Eye Institute) • NIA (National Institute on Aging) • NIBIB (National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering) • NIH (National Institutes of Health) • NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) • NSF (National Science Foundation) • RPB (Research to Prevent Blindness) • TRDRP (Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program)

PGY-4

USC ROSKI EYE INSTITUTE RESIDENTS

Andrew Duong, MD

Kendra Hong, MD

Samantha Madala, MD

Charlene Tran, MD

Joseph Tran, MD

Victoria Wang, MD

Kimberly Yu, MD

PGY-3

Serena Choi, MD

Rahul Dhodapkar, MD

Micalla Peng, MD

Haroon Rasheed, MD

Jasmine Serpen, MD

Ava Torjani, MD

Jenay Yuen, MD, MPH

PGY-2

Bradley Beatson, MD

Bryana Banashefski, MD

Karen Gutierrez, MD

Brandan Kao, MD

Sarah Pike, MD

Jacob Sperber, MD

Clare Teng, MD

David Younessi, MD

PGY-1

Timothy Do, MD

Jamie Karl, MD

Alexander Lieu, MD

Sophia Sidhu, MD

Shreya Sirivolu, MD

Alexander Suh, MD

Kristy Yoo, MD

USC ROSKI EYE INSTITUTE FELLOWS

Samuel Asanad, MD – Vitreoretinal Surgery

Yicheng Bao, MD – Vitreoretinal Surgery

Kashif Iqbal, MD – Cornea

Matthew Johnson, MD – Vitreoretinal Surgery

Jun Hui “Aidan” Lee, MD – Vitreoretinal Surgery

Jacob Lifton, MD – Vitreoretinal Surgery

Sarah Martin, MD – Pediatrics

Derrick Wang, MD – Glaucoma

The USC Roski Eye Institute sees patients at the following locations:

Keck School of Medicine of USC Department of Ophthalmology

USC Roski Eye Institute 1450 San Pablo Street, 4th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90033

323-442-6335

USC Roski Eye Institute — Arcadia

65 N. First Avenue Suite 101 Arcadia, CA 91006

626-446-2122

USC Roski Eye Institute — Glendale

500 N. Central Ave. Suite 400 Glendale, CA 91203

818-583-9500

USC Roski Eye Institute — Pasadena

625 S. Fair Oaks Avenue Suite 400 Pasadena, CA 91105

626-442-6335

USC Roski Eye Institute — USC Village 835 W. Jefferson Boulevard Suite 1720 Los Angeles, CA 90089

833-USC-EYES

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles The Vision Center 4650 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90027

323-660-2450