Dr. Brett Gerwin
Class of 2007

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. The training was not only comprehensive in scope but also very hands on and provided an appropriate amount of autonomy for residents.

The ophthalmology program at UAB stands out for many reasons, and I think the main one is the faculty. The faculty truly care about being excellent mentors and providing for the success of the residents. Also, the training facilities and surgical suites at UAB Callahan Eye Hospital are second to none.

The thing I remember most about my time as a resident is the comradery among the residents. It was wonderful. The faculty, aside from being experts in their respective subspecialties, were really great, down-to-earth people.

While we were immersed with preparing to be ophthalmologists, we were also learning other valuable things that we can use in all aspects of life. I think the most valuable thing I learned and have been able to apply is that results matter. In patient care, and in life, be an honest, thorough, and caring person. Lanning Kline, MD, made a huge impact on my time as a resident because of his approach to patient care and the qualities that make a great doctor as well as a great person.

In addition to Dr. Kline, there were many others who mentored us during our residency. I am thankful for my retinal fellowship mentors – Robert Morris, MD, Douglas Witherspoon, MD, Wayne Taylor, MD, and Jim Kimble, MD – who were instrumental in our training – as well as Devron Char, MD, who was my fellowship mentor in ophthalmic oncology and orbital surgery. Also, I want to mention Luke White, MD, who, aside from being an excellent ophthalmologist, retinal specialist, and mentor, was just a great person of the highest caliber. He will be missed. All of these individuals are ophthalmic superstars and luminaries in ophthalmology. They all made a tremendous impact on my life, and words cannot express how blessed and fortunate I was to have the opportunity to train with them.

I would also like to recognize Drs. Michael Vaphiades and Russell Read whose sub-specialty expertise in the fields of neuro-ophthalmology and uveitis is rare and a tremendous asset to the department and training programs.

I am grateful to have had a successful career in ophthalmology. In addition to my practice, I have enjoyed staying active in local and national affairs related to ophthalmology and ophthalmic education and currently serve on the board of directors of our state academy (TNAO) and for the last four years on the program and content committees of the AAOE. I have also provided an Ophthalmology rotation site in my office for Transitional residents, some of whom are practicing ophthalmologists now. I previously served on the advisory board of Castle Biosciences regarding their melanoma genomics assay. Andrea and I have been together for 20 years now, and we have four children.