Each year, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine welcomes ophthalmic fellows from all around the world. Wilmer’s fellowship program offers world class, advanced clinical and surgical training from the foremost ophthalmology experts in many subspecialties, including glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmology. Read below to meet some of the members of the current class of Wilmer fellows.
Ahmad AlAmeer, M.B.B.S., Neuro-ophthalmology (2022–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? I was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I received my medical degree at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and completed my ophthalmology residency training at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in collaboration with the Wilmer Eye Institute.
What is your biggest area of interest? Neuro-ophthalmology practice and education are still underserved throughout the world. To fill this medical gap, I am interested in promoting and disseminating the Wilmer neuro-ophthalmology experience to ophthalmology and neurology trainees in my native nation.
What has excited you the most thus far? Neuro-ophthalmology training at Wilmer incorporates all the elements of practicing medicine that attracted my interest, including the complexity of problem-solving, interesting research opportunities and dealing with a broad range of cases from acute to chronic diseases. I have seen a great opportunity to be part of a profession that profoundly impacts patients' lives from early childhood through old age.
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Patrick Commiskey, M.D., Cornea, Cataract and External Eye Disease (2022–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? Before coming to Wilmer, I completed my residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
What is your biggest area of interest? My biggest area of interest is the anterior segment of the eye — the cornea, its refractive power and procedures that can enhance it, pre- and post-surgical management of cataracts and external eye disease.
What has excited you the most thus far? I have valued the exposure to just about everything regarding the cornea. The program offers an expansive curriculum that allows for rigorous thinking and problem solving. The faculty is amazing and diverse.
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Angela Gauthier, M.D., Cornea, Cataract and External Eye Disease (2022–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? I grew up in Timonium, Maryland. I majored in neuroscience at Dartmouth College and attended the Yale School of Medicine before becoming an ophthalmology resident at the Wilmer Eye Institute.
What is your biggest area of interest? I love learning new surgical techniques and optimizing the best approaches to cataract surgery, corneal transplants and other ocular surface surgeries.
What has excited you the most thus far? It has been very exciting to learn from a variety of mentors who each have a passion for teaching different ways of approaching challenging clinical and surgical cases.
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Noam Rudnick, M.D., Ph.D., Medical and Surgical Retina (2021–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? I completed my M.D. and Ph.D. training at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. I completed my ophthalmology residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
What is your biggest area of interest? I am interested in all medical and surgical aspects of the retina. I have a particular interest in clinical research and participating in the development of novel therapies for retinal diseases.
What has excited you the most thus far? I love being able to help patients with vision-threatening retinal diseases. I have received outstanding training at Wilmer, and I am excited to apply this training to help patients with complex retinal problems.
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Jasdeep Sabharwal, M.D., Ph.D., Glaucoma (2022–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? I did my undergrad at UC Berkeley followed by an M.D. and Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine. I did my residency at Wilmer prior to starting the fellowship.
What is your biggest area of interest? I am most interested in developing better ways to personalize treatment plans for patients with glaucoma. Because there is a multitude of new technologies that allows doctors to acquire more data, it will be important to determine best practices for the technologies in order to maximize patient care.
What has excited you the most thus far? The range of new procedures for glaucoma and the ability to use them earlier in the disease course is very exciting.
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Tony Valenzuela, M.D., Glaucoma (2022–2023)
What were you doing before the fellowship? I was an ophthalmology resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
What is your biggest area of interest? I am interested in minimally invasive glaucoma surgery and surgical instruction. I will be heading back to Columbia University to join faculty there in August 2023, where I will split my time seeing and operating on my own patients and staffing resident glaucoma clinics and operative cases.
What has excited you the most thus far? It has been such a privilege to learn from all the great minds at Wilmer. The surgical volume here is fantastic and I feel comfortable with many glaucoma procedures. My faculty mentors are brilliant and still super down to earth. It has been amazing working here with them. I can't believe it's almost over!
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The roster of Wilmer fellows also includes:
Colin Bacorn, M.D., Oculoplastics and Reconstructive Surgery (2022–2023)
Rabia Karani, M.D., M.P.H., Medical and Surgical Retina (2022–2023)
Sarah McCord, M.D., Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus (2022–2023)
Matthew O'Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., Medical and Surgical Retina (2021–2023)
Nakul Singh, M.D., M.S., Medical and Surgical Retina (2022–2023)
Shonar Singh, M.B.B.S., D.N.B., Neuro-ophthalmology (2022–2023)
Sarah Wang, M.D., Cornea, Cataract and External Eye Disease (2022–2023)
Carl Wilkins, M.D., Ocular Immunology (2022–2023)