News

This summer, we invite you to explore the experiences and accomplishments of our 2025-2026 Bass Connections project teams. This series features team-written profiles that showcase the discoveries, challenges and impact of teams who spent the year tackling real-world problems.

Ryan McNabb, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Duke Eye Center, was part of an interdisciplinary Bass Connections team that explored how robotic surgery platforms could help expand access to specialized surgical care in rural and underserved communities.

Durga S. Borkar, MD, MMCi, was recently featured in an Ophthalmology Times video interview discussing results from the phase 2 DAVIO2 clinical trial evaluating EYP-1901 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Duke Eye Center faculty and trainees shared their expertise at the 2026 Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) Summer Symposium, held August 20-23 in Monterey, California.

Incoming Duke Department of Ophthalmology Chair SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO, is featured in a recent Ophthalmology Times interview discussing his vision for leading Duke Ophthalmology into its next chapter ahead of his November 10, 2026, start date.

Duke Eye Center vitreoretinal surgery fellow Linus Shen, MD, has been selected as one of four recipients of the 2026 Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Foundation Award, a prestigious national honor recognizing outstanding vitreoretinal surgery fellows.

Diane B. Whitaker, OD, Chief of Vision Rehabilitation and Performance at Duke Health, was featured in a recent WebMD article focused on the emotional challenges of living with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and the resources available to help patients maintain independence and quality of life.

Duke Eye Center faculty and trainees served as speakers, moderators, and panelists at the 2026 Global Ophthalmology Summit in Philadelphia, an international meeting focused on advancing eye care worldwide through innovation, artificial intelligence, and technology. The summit's theme,"Innovation, AI, and Technology: Expanding Access to Healthcare Worldwide," brought together ophthalmologists, trainees, researchers, and global health leaders to explore new approaches for improving access to vision care in underserved communities.

The 2026 Career-Starter Research Grant of $100,000 from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation has been awarded to Nataliia Klementeva, PhD, Senior Research Associate in the Arshavsky Laboratory at the Duke Eye Center. The grant will support her research project, “Elucidating the Pathophysiological Mechanism of Photoreceptor Degeneration in Bardet-Biedl Syndrome.”

A recent Retina Today article highlighted the 2026 Duke Fellows Advanced Vitreous Surgery (fAVS) Course, a two-day educational program directed by Lejla Vajzovic, MD, with co-directors Dilraj Grewal, MD, Xi Chen, MD, PhD, and Durga S. Borkar, MD, MMCi. The course brought together expert faculty and retina fellows for lectures, case discussions, surgical video presentations, and hands-on wet lab training focused on the latest advances in vitreoretinal care and surgery.