New Vice Chair Appointments

Birmingham. He joins Victor Perez, MD in the Foster Center for Ocular Immunology, where his clinical interests include all varieties of uveitis, scleritis, cicatricial pemphigoid, inflammatory ocular surface diseases, and cataract surgery. In his free time, he enjoys farmer’s markets, biking, and eating the samples at Costco.

N. Troy Tagg,

MD joined Duke Eye Center from The Uniformed Services University Tagg and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He completed his Neuro-Ophthalmology fellowship in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at The University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. Tagg completed residency training in neurology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington, DC) and National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda, MD). He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. His interests include autoimmune conditions that affect vision (neuromyelitis optica, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, etc.), vascular disorders, and pseudotumor cerebri, among others.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Malek

Goldis Malek, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology is the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion at Duke Ophthalmology. Malek has an outstanding record in diversity, equity, and inclusion, having served as the department’s Chair for Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. Malek is a principal investigator whose laboratory focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular pathogenic mechanisms underlying the dry and wet forms of AMD, with the goal of identifying potential therapies. In the role as vice chair, she will advocate for new diversity-related programs and activities that align with the goals of the department and Moments to Movement, the Duke School of Medicine strategy to address inequities, and establish and grow mentoring programs for underrepresented minorities in science and medicine.

RESEARCH

Cynthia Toth, MD, Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Professor of Ophthalmology has been appointed Vice Chair for Clinical Research. Toth specializes in the evaluation and surgical treatment of vitreoretinal diseases in infants, children, and adults, and in novel research Toth resulting in the clinical application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging in surgery and at the bedside. She brings a wealth of experience to the position and is passionate about taking the Duke Ophthalmology clinical research programs to the next level. Vadim Arshavsky, PhD and Dan Stamer, PhD have been appointed Co-Vice Chairs for Basic Science Research. Both are leaders in their respective scientific areas, who will help chart a future path for the basic science program at Duke Ophthalmology.

Arshavsky

Arshavsky, Helena Rubinstein Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology, studies cellular pathologies that cause loss of vision in patients suffering from inherited retinal degenerations. His research explores therapeutic approaches that would prevent the disease or reverse its progression. Stamer, Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Professor of Ophthalmology and past president of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). His laboratory studies the disease of glaucoma, with the goal of finding more effective ways to medically control intraocular pressure by targeting the conventional outflow pathway.