Koch Kellan Scholarship Brochure 2020

The 2020 Application Period is now open.

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"At Paragon Bio Teck, Inc., we strive to provide innovative, therapeutic solutions for optimal eye health, but also recognize those who have achieved similar goals. When I embarked on my career in the ophthalmic industry years ago, I became captivated with the substantive work of ophthalmologists Paul S. Koch, MO, and Robert E. Kellan, MO. Both doctors have achieved incredible success as cataract and implant surgeons; their respective tenures in the ophthalmic industry have been marked by numerous innovations in surgical techniques and technologies. During the time I have known these gentlemen, I have had the opportunity to see how their pursuits have influenced and advanced the ophthalmic profession, and moreover, elevated patient care." - Patrick Witham, President & CEO

At Paragon BioTeck, Inc., we strive to develop and foster an unparalleled network of collaborative partnerships to facilitate a cooperative approach to discovery. Our partners have longstanding reputations in health care and each lends a unique area of expertise in contributing to the worldwide fight to prevent blindness; our livelihood is cultivated by our synergies. Through extensive research and compelling innovations, we bring a forward-thinking and entrepreneurial approach to developing and improving products, processes and technologies that address unmet and underserved needs and create positive change for physicians and their patients.

Paragon Gives supports a number of charities and organizations, including those within the biotechnology and health care arena. The initiative also works with individuals and organizations that have made a positive impact on our customers, vendors, investors and industry as a whole. The Koch Kellan Scholarship affirms the commitment of Paragon BioTeck to elevating the standard of eye care through addressing unmet and underserved medical needs and improving the quality of lives around the world. This scholarship was first awarded to Captain Edward Woodward of the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, whose compelling personal connection to the field made him the ideal inaugural recipient.

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The Koch Kellan Scholarship supports the burgeoning career of a talented third-year medical student (Class of 2021) fully committed to a clinical, teaching, and/or research career in ophthalmology. Applicants with full-time status at an accredited graduate medical (MD) program within the United States are eligible to apply. Previous applicants who did not win are eligible to re-apply.

Interested students can find application materials, eligibility requirements, and guidelines at KochKellan.com. The application and all supporting materials must be postmarked by February 16, 2020, for your application to be considered.

Once selected, the Koch Kellan Scholar is invited to attend a national industry event in the spring. For the 2020 award cycle, the recipient will be formally presented at the 2020 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts to be held May 15-19. Award ceremony attendees will include the Paragon BioTeck Advisory Board, Scholarship Review Committee, friends of Paragon BioTeck and industry colleagues. Travel and accommodation for the conference will be provided by Paragon BioTeck, Inc.

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“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive the Koch Kellan Scholarship. It means so much to be recognized by luminaries in this field – Drs. Koch and Kellan as well as Paragon BioTeck – for my dedication to the field of ophthalmology and to providing excellent, equitable medical care to all. As an ophthalmology trainee and public health advocate, I look forward to continuing to collaborate with these leaders to mitigate vision care disparities in both local and global communities.” – Mohima Sanyal 2019 SCHOLAR: MOHIMA SANYAL Mohima Sanyal is a third-year student at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She attends medical school with the personal ambition to apply her interdisciplinary perspectives towards providing excellent, accessible medical care to patients. She believes that access to “excellent healthcare is fundamental to a just society, and that it is critical that we engage with community-specific visual health needs and contribute to innovative, culturally-informed solutions.” Her projects involve creating a more inclusive, theoretically grounded approach to visual care research, applying the power of narrative medicine to mitigate implicit bias in physician practice, and eliminating language and insurance barriers for care. She has applied her interdisciplinary perspectives through her work with the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics Study (a National Institutes of Health study), by giving back to her community with the Give Kids Sight Day as a volunteer coordinator, and through various avenues related to ophthalmology.

2018 SCHOLAR: ALEJANDRO ARBOLEDA Alejandro Arboleda is a third-year medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM). He was born and raised in Miami, FL and is the son of Colombian parents. After earning his Bachelor and Master degrees in Biomedical Engineering, he decided to become a physician in order to more directly help patients and translate his ophthalmology research into the clinical setting. He has been committed to conducting research on novel treatments and technologies with his primary focus being the use of photodynamic antimicrobial therapy for the treatment of infectious keratitis. Alejandro has dedicated his effort towards numerous community service projects helping both local and international underserved communities. On an annual international mission trip, he organized an ophthalmology service that served over 500 patients in its first year and expects to see more this year.

2017 SCHOLAR: XINXIN ZHANG Xinxin Zhang is a transitional year resident at Grand Strand Medical Center, SC. She received her MD from the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill. Her experiences with low-resource settings as a child in both China and the United States exposed her to many treatable eyeconditions at an early age and sparked her desire to serve. Dr. Zhang’s passion for ophthalmology was confirmed during a research project focused on bringing technological diagnostic advances to some of China’s poorest provinces, where high rates of preventable blindness occur primarily due to lack of screening opportunities. During the course of her medical education, she spent one year researching dry eye disease and leading UNC’s student-run ophthalmology clinic. Dr. Zhang is committed to bringing ophthalmological innovation to the rural areas of the state she calls home upon the completion of her training, and looks forward to starting ophthalmology residency at Duke University next year.