Residents 2011-2012 |
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Third Year |
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Jesse Berry, MD Jesse attended Harvard College, where she studied biochemistry. She went on to Harvard Medical School, where she travelled to Thailand, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, studying factors that influence the quality of care provided to international populations via short-term medical missions. Jesse spent her internship in NYC at Sloan-Kettering and there began a deep interest in ophthalmic tumors. She has published several articles on outcomes and misdiagnosis of retinoblastoma, as well as on novel techniques for treatment, including chemosurgery and sonoporation. She hopes to pursue a career in ocular oncology. |
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Alex Huang, MD, PhD Alex completed a double major in neuroscience and molecular biology at Pomona College. He subsequently attended The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed an MD-PhD program with Dr. Solomon Snyder, studying atypical amino acids in the brain and eye. |
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Grant Lee, MD Grant received his bachelor’s degree in biological science from Stanford University before graduating from UCLA Medical School. He is a former Fulbright and Howard Hughes fellow and is interested in international ophthalmology. His past research has focused on risk factors for ocular toxoplasmosis in Brazil. |
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Pho Nguyen, MD Upon graduating from UC Davis with undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and chemical engineering, Pho worked in the semiconductor industry as a process engineer. Subsequently, he joined NASA to conduct basic science research in nanotechnology and earned his Masters in chemical engineering. He came to the Keck School of Medicine with the aspiration to advance health care by clinical and basic science research. Pho’s research interests include nanotechnology, bioengineering, advanced imaging for ophthalmic applications, and stem cells. |
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E. Jason Sabet-Peyman, MD Jason studied molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley and conducted research in the field of immunogenetics at the National Institutes of Health before receiving his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Prior research projects have focused on the effects of intravitreal VEGF inhibitor injections and imaging studies in patients with choroidal neovascularization. |
Second Year |
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Simon Bababeygy, MD Simon obtained a BS in neurosciences at UCLA, where he published his research on the origin of human cancerous pediatric stem cells. He later pursued his MD, with a specialization in the molecular basis of medicine as a Howard Hughes Research Fellow, from Stanford University School of Medicine. Simon conducted research in bioengineering, protein therapeutics and stem cell research. He has published work on the role of hematopoietic stem cells in tumor vascular niche, the roles of Wnt proteins in embryonic neural stem cells, and retrospective surgical outcomes in patients with refractive errors. He also investigated micro-array tools in the diagnosis and treatment of uveitis. Simon completed his transitional year at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center before starting his residency in ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute. |
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Jennifer Lee, MD Jennifer studied molecular biology at Yale College before receiving her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. She has published articles on the horizontal variance of retinal nerve fiber layer peak thickness in glaucoma and myelinated retinal nerve fibers associated with amblyopia. Her interests include traveling, tennis, running, yoga, and skiing. She plans to be active in global health and to work in academia. |
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Grace Richter, MD, MPH Grace graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in biochemistry and international studies, and went to medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she also obtained a Masters In Public Health. While at Columbia, she performed research in the area of telemedicine for retinopathy of prematurity. She has also been involved with cataract epidemiology work for the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. While in medical school, Grace spent time at a pediatric HIV clinic in Lesotho, where she helped coordinate local ophthalmology resources for the clinic's patients. Her professional interests are currently in ocular epidemiology and international ophthalmology. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, snowboarding, and traveling. |
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Damien Rodger, MD, PhD While completing his BS in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 2000 Damien also worked as a co-op intern at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on attitude control microsystems for unmanned space exploration. He then earned his MD from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and his PhD in bioengineering from Caltech. He has conducted groundbreaking research on the design, fabrication, and testing of high density microtechnologies for retinal and spinal cord prostheses, has been instrumental in the development of other novel bioMEMS for intraocular pressure reduction and monitoring, and is currently involved in research on stem cell grafting technology. Damien has written or co-authored more than 40 journal articles and refereed conference proceeding publications and has been granted 12 patents to date. He was voted Transitional Resident of the Year at the University of Chicago (NorthShore) Program before starting his residency in ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, and is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America. |
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Luis Vazquez, MD, PhD Luis E. Vazquez is a second-year resident at LAC + USC Medical Center/Doheny Eye Institute. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico and then completed doctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology. His thesis describes how the protein SynGAP regulates the size and stability of synapses during brain development. He then went to Stanford University School of Medicine where he obtained his MD degree. His research while at Stanford, showing that the complement cascade targets retinal ganglion cells for destruction early in glaucoma, was published in Cell. At Doheny Eye Institute he continues to investigate the role of the complement cascade in retinal pathology. |
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Michelle Wang, MD Michelle received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from UC Irvine before graduating from University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She was awarded a Research to Prevent Blindness Medical Student fellowship to study Alzheimer’s optic neuropathy. She has also participated in research projects in vitreo-retinal diseases, retinal imaging, Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), and dry eye syndrome. |
First Year |
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Ghazala Datoo, MD Ghazala received her bachelor's degree with highest honors from Emory University, where she studied biology and art history. She received her MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she published outcomes research in pediatric neurosurgery and general surgery. She completed her preliminary year in Internal Medicine at UCLA-Olive View Medical Center. |
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Hans Herzog, MD Dieter (Hans) attended Harvard University for college where he studied biochemistry, then attended Loma Linda University for medical school. He has done ophthalmology research on glaucoma, as well as genetic research on keratoconus and age-related macular degeneration at UC Irvine and at Doheny Eye Institute. He enjoys neuro-ophthalmology and plans to pursue a career in academics. His outside interests include college football and hockey. |
 | Bryan Hong, MD Bryan attended Yale College, where he completed an intensive BS in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. His senior thesis was titled, "Characterization of two novel serine protease inhibitors in drosophila with RNAi knockout." He then completed his MD studies at Yale School of Medicine. His MD thesis was "Repeat selective laser trabeculoplasty." As a medical student, Bryan coauthored articles that were published in Journal of Glaucoma, Archives of Ophthalmology, and American Journal of Medicine. His other interests include triathlon and Muppeteering. |
 | Jeremy Hwang, MD, PhD Jeremy majored in chemistry and physics at Harvard University, where he conducted research on femtosecond laser interactions with transparent materials. He subsequently attended Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he completed an MD-PhD degree with Dr. Tae-Wan Kim, studying small molecule modulators of beta-secretase in Alzheimer's disease. |
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Daniel Sand, MD Daniel graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he conducted research in the field of nutrition on the effects of various berries and pomegranate on cancer cell lines. He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and graduated with distinction in research. During medical school he was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and was awarded the AOA research fellowship to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of Graves' disease. Daniel has coauthored journal articles as well as a chapter in Duane's Ophthalmology. His outside interests include jazz music and exercise. |
 | Ramya Swamy, MD Ramya was born in Bangalore, India, grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and moved to the United States at age 18. At the University of Maryland, College Park, she earned dual bachelors degrees, graduating with high honors in molecular biology and genetics and a bachelor of science in Psychology. Ramya completed her medical training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During her medical training she conducted research on the diagnosis and treatment of ocular manifestations of Sjögrens syndrome. After her third year of medical training, she also obtained a Masters in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics. As part of her capstone thesis, Ramya conducted research on cataract surgery outcomes in rural Indonesia. She plans to pursue a career that combines her interests in public health and ophthalmology. |