Rohit Varma | |
---|---|
Academic background | |
Education | University of Delhi (MD) Johns Hopkins University (MPH) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Ophthalmology |
Institutions | University of Illinois University of Southern California |
Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC | |
In office March 2016 –May 1,2018 | |
Preceded by | Carmen Puliafito |
Succeeded by | Laura Mosqueda |
Rohit Varma is an Indian-American ophthalmologist and professor of ophthalmology and preventive medicine. In 2014,he was named director of the USC Eye Institute and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology for Keck School of Medicine of USC. In March 2016,Varma was named the interim dean of the Keck School of Medicine,and in November was named dean. In October 2017,USC announced that he stepped down as dean. [1] In October 2018,Varma became the founding director of the Southern California Eyecare and Vision Research Institute. [2]
Varma has studied eye diseases in minority populations and examined biological,genetic and lifestyle factors related to the risk of developing eye diseases,as well as their prevalence. [3]
Varma earned his medical degree from the University of Delhi [4] and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. [5] He completed an internal medicine internship at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore,a residency at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital,and a glaucoma fellowship at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. [5]
In September 2012,Varma was appointed chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and associate dean for strategic planning at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. [6] He spent two years at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary and then returned to Keck School of Medicine of USC as chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the USC Eye Institute. [7] In 2014,he helped develop the Xen implant. The collagen-derived gelatin stent was a development on traditional glaucoma surgery,as it is said to be less invasive. [8]
In February 2016,he was elected president of the clinical chairs of the Keck School of Medicine,succeeding John Niparko. [9] In March 2016,Varma was named interim dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC when Carmen Puliafito,who had been dean since 2007,resigned after reports were published regarding his use of methamphetamine. [10] [11] In November 2016,Varma was named dean. [12] While dean,Varma launched an international expansion project. The Keck School obtained more than $140 million in National Institutes of Health grants during his tenure.[ citation needed ]
In October 2017 Varma stepped down as dean to join the faculty at USC after sexual harassment claims against him were uncovered. [1] In July 2018,it was announced that Varma had joined the Board of Directors at Illusio,a medical software company bringing augmented reality technology into plastic surgery. With his experience working within academia and medicine,Varma will help Illusio expand to academic medical centers and community hospitals.[ citation needed ]
In October 2018,the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center announced Varma as the founding director of the Southern California Eyecare and Vision Research Institute (SCEVRI). [13]
Varma has studied eye diseases in minority populations and examined biological,genetic and lifestyle factors related to the risk of developing eye diseases. [14] In 2000,Varma was part of the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study at the Doheny Eye Institute,with the National Eye Institute. In 2006,Varma published a paper in the American Journal of Ophthalmology ,discussing diabetic retinopathy. [15]
Varma's primary research has focused on epidemiologic studies of eye disease in children and aging populations. He was the principal investigator in the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, [16] [17] the African-American Eye Disease Study,the Chinese-American Eye Study, [18] and the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Diseases Study. [19] MEPEDS is the largest study of childhood eye diseases ever undertaken in the U.S. In January 2016,the study confirmed that the incidence of childhood myopia among American children has more than doubled over the last 50 years. The findings echo a trend among adults and children in Asia,where 90% or more of the population have been diagnosed with myopia,up from 10% to 20% 60 years ago. [20] [21]
He has studied also changes in the optic nerve in glaucoma,and has helped develop imaging techniques that aid in the early diagnosis of glaucomatous optic nerve damage. [22]
Varma co-wrote two ophthalmic books: [5] Essentials of Eye Care:The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Handbook; [23] and The Optic Nerve in Glaucoma. [24] Varma co-edited the book Advanced Glaucoma Surgery,published by Springer International Publishing in its Essentials in Ophthalmology series. [25]
Varma has additionally published many articles in journals such as Glaucoma Today [26] and Ophthalmology Times. [27]
Ophthalmology is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
Diabetic retinopathy,is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to damage of the optic nerve,which is important for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. This damage is often caused by increased pressure within the eye,known as intraocular pressure and may cause vision loss if left untreated. The word glaucoma originated from the Greek word ΓλαύV̇ξ(glaukos),which means "to glow". Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. It is associated with old age,a family history of glaucoma,and certain medical conditions or medications.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH),an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of NEI is “to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research.”NEI consists of two major branches for research:an extramural branch that funds studies outside NIH and an intramural branch that funds research on the NIH campus in Bethesda,Maryland. Most of the NEI budget funds extramural research.
This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders.
The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California teaches and trains physicians,biomedical scientists and other healthcare professionals,conducts medical research,and treats patients. Founded in 1885,it is the second oldest medical school in California after the UCSF School of Medicine.
Visual impairment,also known as vision impairment,is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity;in the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear,assistive devices,and medical treatment–visual impairment may cause the individual difficulties with normal daily tasks including reading and walking. Low vision is a functional definition of visual impairment that is chronic,uncorrectable with treatment or conventional corrective lenses,and impacts daily living. As such low vision can be used as a disability metric and varies based on an individual's experience,environmental demands,accommodations,and access to services. The American Academy of Ophthalmology defines visual impairment as the best-corrected visual acuity of less than 20/40 in the better eye,and the World Health Organization defines it as a presenting acuity of less than 6/12 in the better eye. The term blindness is used for complete or nearly complete vision loss. In addition to the various permanent conditions,fleeting temporary vision impairment,amaurosis fugax,may occur,and may indicate serious medical problems. The abbreviation VIP is sometimes used for Visually Impaired Person,Persons or People.
Alloplant is a biomaterial made from cartilage used for eye surgery in some clinics in Russia. Experts warn that claims about its alleged regenerative properties by its inventor have not been documented in medical literature.
An eye care professional is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care,from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
Alfred (Al) Sommer is a prominent American ophthalmologist and epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research on vitamin A in the 1970s and 1980s revealed that dosing even mildly vitamin A deficient children with an inexpensive,large dose vitamin A capsule twice a year reduces child mortality by as much as 34 percent. The World Bank and the Copenhagen Consensus list vitamin A supplementation as one of the most cost-effective health interventions in the world.
Blurred vision is an ocular symptom where vision becomes less precise and there is added difficulty to resolve fine details.
Carmen Anthony Puliafito was an American ophthalmologist and academic administrator. From 2007 until March 2016,he was dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is the University of Miami School of Medicine's ophthalmic care,research,and education center. The institute is based in the Health District of Miami,Florida,and has been ranked consistently as the best eye hospital and vision research center in the nation.
Joel S. Schuman,MD,FACS is Professor of Ophthalmology,the Kenneth L. Roper Endowed Chair,Vice Chair for Research Innovation and Co-Director of the Glaucoma Service at Wills Eye Hospital. Prior to this he was the Elaine Langone Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Langone Medical Center,NYU Grossman School of Medicine;Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical &Computer Engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Professor of Neural Science in the Center for Neural Science at NYU College of Arts and Sciences. He chaired the ophthalmology department at NYU Langone Health,NYU Grossman School of Medicine 2016-2020,and was Vice Chair for Ophthalmology Research in the department 2020-2022. Prior to arriving at NYU in 2016,he was Distinguished Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology,Eye and Ear Foundation Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology,Director of UPMC Eye Center (2003-2016) and before that was at Tufts University 1991-2003,where he was Residency Director (1991-1999) and Glaucoma and Cataract Service Chief (1991-2003). In 1998 he became Professor of Ophthalmology,and Vice Chair in 2001.
The USC Gayle and Edward Roski Eye Institute,part of Keck School of Medicine of USC,is a center for ophthalmic care,research and education located in downtown Los Angeles,California. It has subsidiary clinics in Pasadena,Beverly Hills and Arcadia. It was allied with the Doheny Eye Institute from 1975 until 2013,when Doheny allied with University of California Los Angeles.
Mark S. Humayun is a Pakistani-American ophthalmologist,engineer,scientist,inventor and academic –the only ophthalmologist elected a member of both U.S. National Academies of Medicine and Engineering. He is a university professor with joint appointments at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Emily Ying Chew is an American ophthalmologist and an expert on the human retina with a strong clinical and research interest in diabetic eye disease and age-related eye diseases. She currently works for the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda,Maryland,where she serves as deputy director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications (DECA) and the Institute's deputy clinical director. She designs and implements Phase 1,2 and 3 clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center. Chew is board certified in ophthalmology.
James C. Tsai is a physician and scientist who serves as president of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. He also serves as the Delafield-Rodgers Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chair of the department of ophthalmology at the Mount Sinai Health System.
Photostress recovery time (PSRT) is the time taken for visual acuity to return to normal levels after the retina has been bleached by a bright light source. Photostress recovery time measurement procedure is known as photostress test. Normal recovery time is about 15–30 seconds.
Adrienne Williams Scott is an American ophthalmologist specialized in diabetic retinopathy,epiretinal membranes,and macular degeneration. She is chief of the Wilmer Eye Institute in Bel Air,Harford County,Maryland. She is an associate professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.