Description
Ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon with extensive experience in comprehensive medical and surgical practice. Principal investigator in nationwide pharmaceutical clinical trials, communicating with large pharmaceutical companies on both research and business levels. Cultivates personal and business relationships with Clinical Research Organizations (CROs), a conduit for FDA authorized pharmaceutical trials. Possesses detailed understanding and ensures strict adherence to government regulatory requirements. Assembles and manages a team of clinical staff to execute trials on drugs in development. Establishes and maintains a medical/legal partnership with large law firms, testifies in trials, and is a recognized expert in the ophthalmologic manifestations of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). Reviews articles before publication for a peer-reviewed neuroscience journal.
Academic Background
Diplomate American Board of Ophthalmology Certification
Boston University, Boston, MA
Residency, Ophthalmology
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Medical Center, Internship– Ophthalmology
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Doctor of Medicine, M.D. | Regent Scholar
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology | Graduated with Highest Honors | Phi Beta Kappa
Areas of Expertise
- Comprehensive Ophthalmology
- Pharmaceutical Clinical Investigation
- Medical Device Development & Patenting
- Cataract Surgery
- Strategic Growth– Medical Practice
- Business Leadership
- Team Building
- Public Speaking
Professional Experience
North Valley Eye Medical Group, Mission Hills, CA January 1987– December 2020
EYE PHYSICIAN | MANAGING PARTNER
Clinician | Surgeon | Business Leader
- Examinedanaverageof50patients daily in a 7K sq. ft. ophthalmology suite and managed 30+ employees.
- Performed state-of-the-art cataract surgery in a large multi-specialty surgery center.
- Liaised between limited partners and large publicly traded national medical corporations.
- Directly involved in the employee life cycle for private practice, all HR decisions, and maintained frequent contact with contract HR attorneys.
- Managed a predominantly bilingual staff with an 80% retention rate who served a mostly minority medical patient base; serviced Medi-Cal contracts to provide care to patients with varying ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Negotiated large, managed care contracts with nationally recognized healthcare providers.
- Spearheaded business initiatives to launch a long-term strategy of incorporating clinical trials into medical practice to improve financial vitality as well as participating in groundbreaking medical research.
- Created medical/legal statewide networks for personal injury evaluations to improve patient access to medical services after eye injuries or TBIs.
- Partnered with a nationally recognized organic chemist, Merrill Goldenberg, and hold dual ownership of several patents related to an extended-release platform in glaucoma therapy.
- Peer-reviewed the article: The Progress of Label-free Optical Imaging in Alzheimer’s Disease Screening and Diagnosis that was accepted for publication in the journal “Frontiers on Aging Neuroscience”.
Clinical Trials
- Principal Investigator (PI) or Sub-Investigator for hundreds of Phase Il, Ill, and IV clinical trials on the full spectrum of eye disease and surgery including glaucoma, diabetes, dry eye, cataracts, and presbyopia.
- Developed nationally recognized site for clinical trial investigations. Led site patient enrollment and stayed competitive with other nationally recognized clinical sites.
- Collaborated with national leaders in clinical trial development.
- Provided medical monitoring of 50+ patient subjects per trial.
- Realized income of $1.2M in clinical trial revenue in 2019.
- Clinical site noted by FDA to have no deficiencies during clinical site audits for FDA approved medication.
- Recent publication in the Correspondence section of Nature, recognized as a most prestigious international science journal, regarding clinical trials and COVID, June 2021: COVID: treatment trials are still urgent.
- Principal investigator of ongoing multi-institutional retrospective clinical study related to COVID.
Medical-Legal Expert
- Provided expert medical care for patients with eye trauma and TBI.
- Wrote complex medical/legal reports including product liability associated with eye injuries; participated in extensive deposition and trial experience.
- Authored extensive blogs with over 50 articles related to ophthalmic manifestations of TBI.
- Participated in trauma panels for emergency rooms at a regional trauma center and hospital for 30+ years.
- Collaborated with personal injury attorneys with head injuries clients ranging from an eye injury, chemical spill, facial fracture to an accident. Provided quantifiable treatments and recovery estimations based on the extent of the injury.
- Trained internal staff to understand medical-legal cases to facilitate discussions with each attorney and their staff
Professional Organizations
American Academy of Ophthalmology | Fellow
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons | Member
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology | Member
Los Angeles County Medical Association | Member
California Medical Association | Member
Community Activities
Eye Care America | Volunteer
Concern Foundation for Cancer Research | Member
Surgical Eye Expeditions, International Mission to El Salvador | Board Member