Author: Mary-Russell Roberson
For more than 20 years, Pratap Challa, MD, professor of ophthalmology, has led the Duke ophthalmology residency program that consistently ranks in the top 10 nationwide, and produces a high proportion of clinician-scientists who go on to become leaders in the field.
“His tenure, marked by sustained excellence and innovative leadership, places him among the most dedicated and impactful program directors in the field,” said Edward Buckley, MD, the James Pitzer Gills, III, M.D. and James and Joy Gills Professor of Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine and the chair of the department.
In recognition of his achievements, Challa received the 2024 Straatsma Award for excellence in resident education from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology.
“I’m really glad he got this award,” said Jessica Chow, MD, who trained under Challa from 2007 to 2011 and now directs the ophthalmology residency program at Yale School of Medicine. “It’s very well deserved.”
Challa said he’s excited to receive the Straatsma award, but is quick to spread the credit around. “We attract great residents and trainees and part of the success goes to them as well as the faculty, who work very hard to train them,” he said.
Training Clinician-Scientists
When Challa became the director in 2001, then-chair David L. Epstein, MD, charged him with increasing the number of Duke trainees becoming clinician-scientists. Challa has done just that. When he arrived, 20–25 percent of trainees went into academia; today it’s 50–60 percent.
“We have a broad compre-hensive training not just in clinical and surgical areas, but also in the investigative side of medicine, asking new questions and discovering new things,” Challa said.
A dedicated research block in the third year allows trainees to get a jumpstart on their careers by applying for research grants, collaborating with people outside the department, and publishing their work.
“The goal is to give them the skill set they need to be able to ask a question of significance, form a hypothesis, find a way to test the hypothesis, and add new knowledge to the field,” he said.
And it works: “We average over two publications per resident during their time here, which is quite impressive.”
When it comes to adding new knowledge to the field, Challa practices what he preaches. As a glaucoma researcher, his work with Duke colleagues, David L. Epstein, MD, Vasantha Rao, PhD and Eric Toon, PhD, led to the development of Rhopressa, approved as a treatment for glaucoma by the FDA in 2017. Challa also studies the effectiveness of resident-performed cataract surgeries and how different patients respond to treatments.
Modeling Excellence
Former residents said Challa is a role model for both trainees and colleagues. “He himself is an outstanding clinician, surgeon, educator, researcher, and colleague,” said Kelly Muir, MD, MHSc, associate professor of ophthalmology. Muir completed the Duke residency program in 2006 and now directs Duke’s ophthalmology fellowship program. “So he’s an ideal role model for the trainees to look up to and try to emulate.”
As director of the Yale residency program, Chow said she admires and is inspired by Challa’s leadership style. “He’s extremely supportive and always believes in his residents,” she said. “He always had our backs and I try always to do the same for our residents, I learned that from him.”
She also aims to match his calm. “He never got flustered in the operating room,” she said. “I try to emulate that style because it’s really easy to make residents nervous.”
Muir added, “What most of us who have worked with him know is that he is cool as a cucumber. You cannot ruffle his feathers, or if you can, I haven’t seen it.”
Challa is just as supportive of his colleagues as he is of residents, Muir said, stepping up to help in ways large and small, whether he’s lending his expertise on a complex case or covering for a colleague unexpectedly called out of town. “He’s always there to take care of patients, residents, and colleagues,” she said.
In addition to taking care of his own patients, Challa has no doubt improved the lives of the innumerable patients cared for by all the ophthalmologists whose training he has overseen in the past two decades.
“Our goal is to train the best and the brightest and have them take great care of patients and improve the way we take care of patients,” Challa said.