Message from the Interim Chair
When I look back on 2022, I am astounded by the growth across all areas of our mission, including adding multiple faculty members to our staff, expanding our footprint with new clinic openings in central Alabama, welcoming our first-ever first-year interns to the residency program, and continuing to lead the way in key areas of ophthalmic research. Our new brand – UAB Callahan Eye – which launched externally in August, has brought the clinical and academic missions together, and we are excited to continue building our reputation as a destination for eye care in the state, region, and around the nation.
The year also brought us back to “normal,” and we were thrilled to begin hosting our alumni and audiences for events after a two-year break. While COVID-19 insulated us from each other, it made us realize the importance of gathering, whether we were hosting our alumni at the AAO event in Chicago, hosting our annual Symposium, or celebrating our colleagues on well-accomplished careers.
In this publication, you will read about some of our accomplishments in 2022, including how Dr. Owsley and her team secured one of the largest grants in our history from the NIH’s Bridge2AI Program. You will also be introduced to our first-year residents, who, for the first time ever, are spending their intern year with us in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. They give us a glimpse into their daily lives as well as the rotations they have completed and what they are looking forward to for the remainder of their residencies.
We also caught up with a few of our alumni who have had very successful professional careers. As I have mentioned before, our alumni are exceptional, and we are so proud of the impact they make, not only in the world of ophthalmology but in their communities.
The year 2022 was a record-breaking year for our clinical and surgical teams, who saw increases in numbers in all facets – from our Lions Clinic and Emergency Department to our clinics and operating rooms. Our faculty and staff continue to raise the bar, treating a record number of patients each year while continuing to provide excellent patient care and experiences for everyone they encounter. Additionally, our research faculty submitted a record number of grants and had a record number of peer-reviewed publications.
I am honored to serve as the interim chair for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The commitment of our faculty, staff, clinicians, and researchers is second-to-none, and I am truly grateful for the work everyone in our organization does to further the mission and vision of UAB Callahan Eye.
I look forward to what is ahead for the department and I am proud to be part of this organization.
Brian C. Samuels, MD, PhD
Interim Chair and Associate Professor
Dennis Endowed Professor in Glaucoma Research
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Research
The NIH Common Fund’s Bridge to Artificial Intelligence, or Bridge2AI, program will help set the stage for widespread use of artificial intelligence to solve some of the most pressing challenges in human health.
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Dr. Christine Curcio was selected as one of four recipients of the Future Vision Foundation’s 2022 Laureate Award to showcase her extraordinary breakthroughs in vision research to restore vision or to prevent vision loss.
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Paul Gamlin, PhD, and his collaborators published "Origins of direction selectivity in the primate retina" in Nature Communications. The study describes the origins of direction selectivity in the non-human primate (NHP) retina.
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Cynthia Owsley, PhD, director of the Clinical Research Unit in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has received the 2022 Roger H. Johnson Macular Degeneration Award.
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Research by the Numbers
Education
When we announced the establishment of the four-year integrated residency program, we immediately began to design an intern year program that would benefit our first-ever incoming PGY-1 class. Meet our first-year residents and see how they have been spending their time in their integrated year.
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Beginning July 2023, the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences will be adding a Cornea Fellowship to its educational programs. This is in addition to the glaucoma, low vision, retina, and neuro-ophthalmology fellowships already offered in the department.
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Alumni Check-in
There are so many great memories that come to mind when I think of my time as a resident at the Eye Foundation, now UAB Callahan Eye. The one thing that I will always remember is that the experience was one of hard work, daily growth and learning, and collegial and positive interactions with fellow residents and faculty.
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I remember my years as a resident at UAB as a roller coaster of emotions. The first year started with great anticipation and some fear of the unknown. After getting to know the other residents and the amazing staff at UAB, that fear turned to excitement about learning everything I could about ophthalmology and feeling blessed to be able to help restore and preserve patients’ vision.
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After graduating from the UAB ophthalmology residency in 2007, I completed fellowships in vitreoretinal surgery and ocular oncology before starting my solo practice in Tennessee. When I look back on my professional journey, I am thankful for the way the residency program at UAB prepared me for a successful career.
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When I think of my time as a resident, one word comes to mind – community. In general, ophthalmology residencies are typically smaller when compared to most other programs. UAB is actually on the larger side, taking five residents a year. We created a team environment among ourselves, and I truly believe that helped us thrive and succeed, not only in residency, but in our current careers.
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Clinical
Physical health is something many of us take for granted — until something goes wrong. If you’re blessed with clear vision, pause for a moment and consider what it might be like to lose it. This was six-week-old Allie Sandlin’s reality in 2012, but thanks to the experts at UAB Callahan Eye, Allie is now a bright, beautiful, and healthy 10-year-old with excellent vision!
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In the 2022 fiscal year, UAB Callahan Eye added six new providers to our team of exceptional clinical faculty. These individuals bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that will only enhance and expand our eye care offerings.
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UAB Callahan Eye has expanded to Tuscaloosa with the addition of a new clinic located at 1030 Fairfax Park. The 18th clinic location in Callahan’s growing portfolio of ophthalmic and optometric care opened Monday, August 29, 2022.
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Surgery by the Numbers
Philanthropy
I became a big fan of UAB Callahan Eye about 15 years ago when my son had a scary eye injury. He received excellent care in the Callahan emergency department and then we were frequent visitors at Callahan for many weeks thereafter, receiving exemplary care each time from his ophthalmologist. I even sent a letter to UAB leadership to highlight our excellent experience at Callahan.
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My name is Steve Glenn, and I am a professional pilot. I am a Boeing 777 captain for an international cargo company. I’m also a volunteer pilot with the Commemorative Air Force, a 65-year-old organization that flies World War II aircraft for the education and enjoyment of people all over the world.
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$15 million of the campaign has already been raised through a commitment between the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama, the International Retinal Research Foundation, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This significant commitment serves as a springboard, catapulting us to the next phase of our 20/20 Initiative: Raising $10 million from the community and individual donors.
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