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2023-2024 Heed Fellows
FOUR KELLOGG TRAINEES WERE APPOINTED TO THE PRESTIGIOUS 2023-2024 CLASS OF THE SOCIETY OF HEED FELLOWS, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 24 FELLOWS NATIONWIDE. NEW MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY RECEIVE A MERIT AWARD FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN OPHTHALMOLOGY.
Otana Jakpor, M.D., M.Sc., who has also been named a Global Ophthalmology Fellow at Kellogg for the 20232024 academic year, plans to apply her award to an upcoming study of factors associated with the incidence of cataracts in pediatric patients in the African nation of Ghana.
She is developing the research project in collaboration with colleagues at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, Ghana.
“Pediatric cataracts can result from a number of factors, including genetics, metabolic conditions, infections and trauma,” she explains. “The pediatric ophthalmologists at KBTH want a deeper understanding of which of these causes are most strongly associated with cataract development in their patient population, and the role each may play in determining patient outcomes.”
Dr. Jakpor hopes to augment that analysis by assessing the impact of pediatric cataracts on quality of life, in both patients and their caregivers. “We would like to highlight the importance of addressing pediatric cataracts, not only for children’s physical health, but also for their overall well-being,” she says.
Young children don’t know if they have vision problems. That’s why pediatricians and primary care providers should make vision screening a standard component of every preschooler’s annual check-up.
Yearly vision testing is critical at ages three, four and five, and incrementally after that, flagging any abnormalities for referral to an ophthalmologist. Failure to do so could mean missing the development of conditions like amblyopia which can result in permanent vision loss.
Former Kellogg ophthalmology resident Olivia Killeen, M.D., M.S., A Research Fellow in the National Clinical Scholars Program, dedicates her research to improving vision health and eliminating avoidable blindness by addressing barriers to eye care and strengthening the delivery of ophthalmic services. For a snapshot of the real-world challenges of pediatric vision screening, Dr. Killeen piloted a study within the U-M Health System, combining a medical records review and interviews with providers at 17 clinics.
Screening rates did vary from clinic to clinic. Interviews revealed instances where high screening levels were linked to devoting resources to improved equipment, and where lower screening levels could be connected with Covid-19-associated staffing shortages.
In summer 2023, Dr. Killeen began a one-year pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at Duke University. Before departing Kellogg, she was named a 2023/2024 Heed Fellow.
She plans to apply her Heed award to replicating the U-M study at Duke. “Learning from an additional site will test my theory that the issues we identified are not unique to Michigan,” she says, “but rather, signposts that point to a national public health issue.”
While completing the second, research-focused year of a two-year glaucoma clinical research fellowship, Rithambara Ramachandran, M.D., is pursuing innovative ways to improve detection and outcomes for glaucoma patients, particularly those with socioeconomic barriers to screening and care.
“Unfortunately glaucoma is largely an asymptomatic disease,” she explains. “And nearly seven in ten patients don’t even know they have it. We need to be able to identify individuals before symptoms have developed and the disease has progressed to the point where they face irreversible blindness.”
Dr. Ramachandran’s research, which she is conducting while earning an M.S. in healthcare research at U-M, focuses on how to bring screening and diagnosis to at-risk populations earlier, before they present with late stage disease.
Through community-based participatory research, big data analysis, and implementation science, she is focusing on identifying the best tools, technologies and methodologies to improve access to eyecare screening, address disparities in eye disease screening, and diagnose and overcome eyecare barriers.
“My long term goal is to design, validate and implement a glaucoma screening program for high-risk communities that is clinically sound, scalable, cost effective and equitable.”
Tania Padilla Conde, M.D., a fellow in cornea and external disease, is involved in a number of initiatives to improve access to eye health care—specifically, cornea transplantation—in low resource populations in the U.S. and abroad.
The eldest daughter in a single parent Hispanic household, Dr. Padilla Conde grew up in a community with limited healthcare options. “That firsthand experience fuels my passion to improve vision care and treatment outcomes in underserved communities,” she explains.
Dr. Padilla Conde will apply her Heed Fellow award to an upcoming project in collaboration with colleagues at Eversight, a global nonprofit eye bank. “We are working to improve the delivery of preloaded Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) tissue abroad, by validating a novel transport cartridge,” she says. “Our study will improve storage and shipping conditions to minimize endothelial cell loss, a very important marker to ensure these countries receive quality tissue for corneal transplantation.”
She is also conducting a study of refractive outcomes for DMEK triple procedures using a novel approach developed by her mentor, cornea specialist Nambi Nallasamy, M.D. The technique, which employs machine learning technology, aims to improve both preoperative planning and post-operative outcomes.
Dr. Padilla Conde is thankful for the Heed fellowship and hopes to focus her future work on helping advance novel techniques for corneal transplantation, including alternative approaches to endothelial cell replacement.
