Our Vision for the Future

JULY 2026

FROM THE CHAIR

As we move through the summer, I am filled with gratitude and pride at what our Department has accomplished — and profound optimism for what lies ahead.

This edition of Our Vision for the Future reflects the full breadth of who we are: a community of scientists, clinicians, educators, and trainees united around our patients by a shared commitment to defeating blinding diseases and restoring sight to all.

Read Dr. Sahel's message

José-Alain Sahel, MD, FARVO

Distinguished Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology

The Eye & Ear Foundation Endowed Chair

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Director, UPMC Vision Institute

Emeritus Professor at Sorbonne Université, Paris

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

During the first year Daniel Gao, PhD, was at Pitt, he was fortunate to build a team of researchers with diverse backgrounds who share a passion for understanding fundamental biological questions, developing molecular medicines, and ultimately benefiting patients.

Read more about this collaboration

RECOGNITION

Vishal Jhanji, MD, FRCS, FRCOphth(Glasgow), FARVO

Editor-in-Chief, Cornea. Dr. Jhanji has been selected as Editor-in-Chief of Cornea, the official journal of the Cornea Society. Published monthly, Cornea is one of the world's largest leading peer-reviewed journals devoted to corneal, ocular surface, and anterior segment diseases. Read more about the journal

Jay Chhablani, MD

The Retina Hall of Fame, The American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Annual Meeting in Montreal, July 17. Dr. Chhablani has been inducted into the Retina Hall of Fame by the American Society of Retina Specialists, a peer-nominated distinction that speaks to his transformative contributions to retina care and research worldwide.

Xing Chen, PhD

Top 5 Young American Scientists, Scientific American, July 2026. Dr. Chen was listed as one of the top 5 young scientists 'on the radar.' Dr Chen is a highly productive early-career researcher who has made tremendous impact in her field and beyond, performing at the cutting edge of innovation. Read the Scientific American article

Marlene Behrmann, PhD

Honorary Doctorate, from the University of Copenhagen in the fall, a well-deserved tribute to her landmark contributions to cognitive neuroscience and ophthalmology. Read more about Dr. Behrmann and her research below in the Faculty Spotlight.

José-Alain Sahel, MD, FARVO

The Wolf Prize in Medicine, The Wolf Foundation (with Botond Roska), June 18. The Wolf Prize is an international award presented to scientists and artists for outstanding achievements in the interest of mankind. Dr. Sahel is the first Pitt faculty member and the first ophthalmologist to receive this award.
Read about the Wolf Prize | Watch the Wolf Prize ceremony
2026 Distinguished Innovation Award, Harvard Medical School & Mass Eye and Ear, June 12. Dr. Sahel received the award to recognize his pioneering contributions to translational vision science and life-changing therapies for retinal disease.
2026 Proctor Medal and Lecture, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), May 4. Dr. Sahel delivered the Proctor Lecture and was awarded this prestigious honor to recognize his outstanding research and significant contributions in the field of ophthalmology.
Watch Dr. Sahel's Proctor lecture
PRIMA wireless retinal implant has received a CE mark, which is the European version of the FDA.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Marlene Behrmann, PhD, John and Clelia Sheppard Chair in Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh, is receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen in the fall.

Read about Dr. Marlene Behrmann's research

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Residents

We are excited to welcome a new class of talented physicians as they begin the next stage of their training with the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Vision Institute.

Top Row: Annika Chang, Arman Y. Zarnegar, Robert J. Porter

Front Row: Paula A. Sepulveda Beltran, Sean Ghiam, Owen Clinger

Fellows

These future leaders in eye care, research, and education bring a passion for improving vision and patient outcomes, and we look forward to supporting their growth as clinicians, surgeons, and scholars.

Top Row: Christian Karam, Nathaniel P. Goldblatt, Nasiq Hasan

Middle Row: Kajree Gupta, Maya Vardi, Hao-Tinh "Tinh" Le

Front Row: Rachel Mills, Annabel Levin, Zeenal Dabre, Crystal Lee

NEW RESIDENT PROFILE

As we welcome the new class of Ophthalmology residents, each newsletter will feature a profile. This month’s is Sean Ghiam, whose interest in ophthalmology developed through a combination of patient experiences, research, and an appreciation for the precision of microsurgery.

Read about Sean Ghiam

GRANTS

Principal Investigator(s)	Project	Amount	Type
Al Diri	Wiring of chromatin landscape	$413,741	R01
Chen Y	RHO-associated retinitis pigmentosa	$525,957	R01
Chhablani	Platform for drug delivery and modeling of AMD	$250,000	Thome Memorial Foundation
Dhaliwal	Biosensor for real-time detection of corneal injuries	$7,769	DoD
Durrani, Errera, Rossi, Sahel, St. Leger	In vivo imaging in of the immune response in human uveitis		R01
Fuller	Unfolded protein response as a therapeutic target for fungal keratitis	$367,099	R01
Jones	Retinal circuitry	$557,870	NIH
Pfieffer	Spatial transcriptomic profiling in pediatric RP	$100,000	Knights Templar Eye Foundation
Sahel, Beltran, Byrne, DiLeo	Retinal-adhesive gel for AAV gene delivery	$614,243	R01
Sigal	AXON: Axonal BiomechaniX to unveil injury mechanisms in glaucomatous ON	$265,940	R01
Sigal	Histology, Imaging & Analysis Module	$178,263	P30
St. Leger	Sympathetic nerves & herpes stromal keratitis	$410,001	R01
St. Leger	Ocular surface microbiome colonization	$397,500	R01
St. Leger, Galor	Ocular surface microbiome stability	$1,092,426	U24
St. Leger, Kaplan, Singh	Neuro-immune homeostasis at the ocular surface	$1,277,057	U01
Pitt / EEF	NF1 Vision Restoration	$2,182,900	Gilbert Family Foundation
Williams	Leveraging NLP of the EHR to identify social needs	$15,000	Eye & Ear Foundation

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Fox Center for Vision Restoration Conference, November 2-4

PITTSBURGH HIGHLIGHTS

Partnership to Develop Breakthrough Imaging Platform

José-Alain Sahel, MD, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Director of the UPMC Vision Institute, and Maysam Chamanzar, PhD, Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Career Development Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, established a partnership to develop a breakthrough imaging platform—Ultrasonically-Enhanced Optical Coherence Tomography (ue-OCT)—designed to overcome the fundamental limitations of current retinal imaging. By enabling clinicians to visualize the earliest biological changes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), ue-OCT has the potential to shift care from reactive treatment to proactive preservation of vision.