Explore UAB

UAB’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and UAB Callahan Eye Hospital & Clinics are pleased to welcome four new providers – Elise Agostinelli, OD, Jeff Chaiprakob, MD, John Morgan, MD, and Jeffrey Tapley, MD.

MoneyGeek.com recently published an article featuring expert advice from Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., Nathan E. Miles Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology and Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Free vision screening and eye testing are now being offered as part of a new study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences to patients at some Cahaba Medical Care primary care clinics.

Krupa Patel, MD, has been named associate program director for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences’ residency program. Patel, who has been part of the department faculty since 2019, specializes in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus. Originally from Ohio, Patel completed medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University and her ophthalmology residency from Summa Health before finishing her pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at Indianapolis at Riley Hospital for Children.

Patel will work alongside Russell Read, MD, PhD, providing residents robust training opportunities, as well as overseeing the newly-announced integrated intern residency year.

Congratulations to Shervonne Poleon, who has been named the recipient of the 2021 Prevent Blindness Rising Visionary Award.

Christine A. Curcio, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the UAB School of Medicine, has been named to the Top 100 Women in Ophthalmology Power List 2021.

The residents of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences were recently named the recipient of the 2020 Commitment to Advocacy Award given by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Christine A. Curcio, Ph.D., was recently invited to present at the 18th Annual Angiogenesis Meeting at Bascom Palmer. This year’s program, Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2021, was attended virtually by 948 retina specialists, general ophthalmologists, researchers, and industry representative in 52 countries. Presenters are considered global experts in the clinical practice of retina and world-class researchers in the field of retinal degenerations.

J. Crawford Downs, Ph.D. and collaborators recently had an article chosen as one of 10 Editor’s Selections for commentary in this quarter’s (1st quarter 2021) International Glaucoma Review (IGR). IGR has the most complete collection of abstracts from the glaucoma literature which are otherwise not available. It is the only journal that presents a three-monthly critical review of selected glaucoma literature. It catalogs all glaucoma-related publications for the period. 

Curcio Named 2021 Dean’s Excellence Award Winner in Research

Racette Receives 2021 UAB Graduate School Dean's Award for Mentorship

Marissa Locy Named Assistant Professor

Priscilla Fowler Named Associate Professor

C. Douglas Witherspoon Named Professor Emeritus

UAB Callahan Eye has been named the newest site for Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna, the first FDA-approved gene therapy treatment for those diagnosed with Leber Congenital Amaurosis(LCA).

LCA is a retinal degenerative condition and a leading cause of genetic blindness in children.  Patients with LCA start to lose their vision in the first five years of life, and it gets progressively worse as they age. Most patients are considered legally blind due to the profound vision loss it causes.  One subtype is caused by an inherited mutation of both RPE65 genes. When patients have mutations in both of copies of their RPE65 gene, the normal visual cycle cannot take place, and retinal cells die over time.  Luxturna uses a non-disease causing virus to deliver a normal copy of the RPE65 gene to retinal cells enabling them to make proteins capable of improving and preserving visual function.  

Drs. Jason Crosson and Richard Feist Jr, of Retina Consultants of Alabama will treat patients with RPE65 LCA (also known as LCA 2) at UAB Callahan Eye. In a delicate surgical procedure that requires two surgeons, Drs. Crosson and Feist will inject Luxturna under the retina.  Over the next few weeks, patients begin to notice improvements in their vision, especially in dim lighting.  

“We are excited to offer patients with this debilitating condition the opportunity to see more clearly for the first time in their lives,” said Dawn DeCarlo, OD, PhD, director of the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. “Patients in our area that were previously identified as good candidates for Luxturna have had to travel to other states to receive treatment. It is exciting that we will now not only be able to offer patients from Alabama treatment right here at UAB Callahan Eye, we will also be a destination treatment center for patients throughout the southeast.” 

UAB is now one of only 14 Luxturna treatment locations in the nation, and one of the few sites in the Southeast. “Our location, in Birmingham, is an asset because of our reputation as a top national eye center and the accessibility of our city for those living in the Southeast,” said Brian Samuels, MD, PhD, interim chair for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. “I am extremely proud of Drs. Paul Gamlin, Dawn DeCarlo, Jason Crosson, and Richard Feist Jr, who were instrumental in UAB becoming an approved treatment center.”  

“We have already been notified there are patients from Alabama and the Southeast who are interested in receiving treatment here,” said Crosson. “We look forward to meeting our new patients soon and scheduling them for treatment.”

Luxturna was developed by Spark Therapeutics. Patients interested in LUXTURNA™ should talk to their doctor to find out if this treatment is right for them or contact Spark Therapeutics at mysparkgeneration@sparktx.com or 1-833-SPARK-PS.

By Torrey DeKeyser

Do you have a vision problem? Or do you know someone who has glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration?   Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were new and improved preventive or curative treatments for those and other blinding eye diseases?  It could happen!  And work on those very issues is happening at UAB!   

That’s why when the opportunity to make a planned gift to the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences arose several years ago, it was an easy decision to say “Yes!” 

I had the good fortune to serve for 22 years as Executive Director of the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama (ESFA), a health legacy foundation that provides grants to charitable organizations engaged in eye research, patient care and professional and patient education.  This grantmaking organization was formed 25 years ago when UAB bought the former Eye Foundation Hospital—now UAB Callahan Eye Hospital.  The money from that sale became the corpus of the EyeSight Foundation.  UAB Ophthalmology and the Callahan Eye Hospital have been the biggest recipients of ESFA’s grants.  Because of this long-term relationship, I was closely involved with the ophthalmology experts at UAB’s School of Medicine and the Callahan Eye Hospital.

I have had glaucoma for more than 30 years, and until recently, it had been treated with drops given by my physician in another town. I also had a laser procedure done to help my right eye drain a little better, and after several weeks, I noticed my eye was red, which had never happened before. I called my physician and couldn’t get in to see him, so I thought to call my friend, Judy, who works for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology. I told her I was losing sight in my right eye, and I asked her if she would be able to help get me an appointment with one of the eye doctors who worked there. She called me back and said Dr. Knox would be able to see me that day.

Paul D. Gamlin, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the UAB School of Medicine, has been named a Gold Fellow by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Every February, the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science awaits the much-anticipated resident matches for the next year. These soon-to-be medical school graduates will begin their residency program in July 2022 and will spend three years learning from our ophthalmologists and gaining hands-on experience before beginning their professional careers.

We are thrilled to announce the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science Class of 2025:

	Poojitha Balakrishnan UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham
	Caroline Besley Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Charleston
	Veena Danthuluri UAB School of Medicine,Birmingham
	Malcolm Kates University of Florida, Gainsville
	Scott McClure UAB School of Medicine, Birmingham

Brought up with little resources in Medellín, Colombia, Dr. Marcela Frazier watched her single-mom work hard to provide for her family’s needs and create a happy and loving home. Now, along with the Hispanic/Latinx Faculty Association, Dr. Marcela is taking steps to create a community of Hispanic/Latinx doctors who want to do better for those in these underserved populations. To read more click here. 

A big round of congratulations to the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences faculty members who were selected by scEYEnce as leading scientists in vision research. scEYEnce is a campaign that aims to educate the broader public about the crucial importance of vision research. It is a working group comprised of 10 organizations dedicated to advancing the study and knowledge of vision research.

Michael Callahan, M.D., professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been selected as a member of the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.