Ophthalmology Groundbreakers: Sayena Jabbehdari, MD, MPH

1. How did you first become involved in ophthalmology research?

Growing up, I would distribute monthly surveys of expenses, salaries, and health status to my family members and read the results to them. My love of conducting research and finding potential correlations between variables led me to look for an active and established research center early in medical school. In my first year, I joined my school’s neuro-ophthalmology research center, where I gained basic research and data analysis skills. After medical school, I was fortunate to join the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as a postdoctoral research fellow. In this position, I was extensively involved in basic and clinical ophthalmology research. Concurrent to my research fellowship, I worked to obtain a master’s in public health and biostatistics at UIC; this program helped me to excel in big data analysis and grow my skills in programming.

2. What is the focus of your current research?

As an ophthalmology resident, I try to read about the complex cases that I see daily and write them down as a case report or series. The main research topics that I have been working on recently include (1) evaluating diversity in ophthalmology and efforts to build a more inclusive field that represents all patients and (2) regressing the aging process and targeting oxidative stress and aging pathways in ophthalmic disorders.

3. Who is/are your research mentor/mentors?

I have been lucky to have several incredible supporters, mentors, and sponsors during my research fellowship at UIC, clinical ophthalmology rotations at Byers Eye Institute and Wilmer Eye Institute, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology’s Global Mentorship Program, the American Society of Retina Specialists’ diversity, equity, and inclusion mentorship program, and the AAO’s Mid-Year-Forum advocacy ambassador program. It was an absolute privilege to be mentored by Ali Djalilian, MD; RV Paul Chan, MD; William Mieler, MD; Karl Golnik, MD; David Guyton, MD; James Handa, MD; Heather Moss, MD, PhD; Darius Moshfeghi, MD; Yang Sun, MD, PhD; Cassie Ludwig, MD, MS; Natalia Callaway, MD, MS; Nicolas Yannuzzi, MD; Michael Shapiro, MD; Amani Fawzi, MD; Hong-Uyen Hua, MD; Geeta Lalwani, MD; and Janice Law, MD.

4. How do you typically find a research opportunity or identify a project you would like to pursue?

I believe that research ideas come from questions, and questions develop from having enough knowledge and an understanding of the needs in the field. Most of the research ideas that I work on come from questions that my patients ask me. Other ideas come to my mind while I am studying and cannot find an answer in the current literature. Participating in ophthalmology conferences, reading ophthalmology journals, and trying to be as updated as possible on the new technologies and innovations in ophthalmology—in addition to daily learning responsibilities as a trainee—are all helpful for identifying the needs in the field and for developing cutting-edge ideas.

5. What do you look for in a research partner, either on the physician or industry side?

My passion is to find answers to current or past challenges faced by members of the health care system and to find solutions for chronic disorders. I truly believe that teamwork, honesty, and the synergistic work of physicians—with one another and with industry partners—are essential to the development of new methods for improving sight.

6. What areas of research excite you most about the future of ophthalmology?

The more inclusive ophthalmology becomes—where diverse ophthalmologists can represent their patient populations—the more creative, out-of-the-box, and novel ideas there will be in the field. I am excited to see where initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion will take ophthalmology in regard to clinical, educational, and research developments. I believe that stem cell therapy for chronic disorders, new molecular therapies, gene therapy, targeted therapies, and tissue engineering are the future.

7. What are your overall research goals?

Nothing is more gratifying to me than finding innovative solutions for ophthalmic disorders and helping the patient to restore the precious gift of sight.

8. What advice would you give to other aspiring or young ophthalmologists looking to conduct research?

I suggest that they follow their dreams, search for answers to their questions, look for advice from everyone, find a mentor and sponsor early in their career, and never give up their hope, curiosity, and positivity along the way.

View some of Dr. Jabbehdari’s research here:

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