Please share with us your background.

I was born in Alaska, where my parents met, and I lived there for the first few years of my life in a small town in the state’s interior region, near Denali National Park. As a child, I moved to Oklahoma, where I eventually attended college and medical school at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. I went on to complete ophthalmology residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. Following a wonderfully challenging residency experience, I moved to Utah to work with Geoffrey Tabin, MD, for an international ophthalmology fellowship at the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. I spent another 3 years at the Moran Eye Center working in the international ophthalmology space and pursuing a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship before returning to Bascom Palmer to complete fellowship training in ocular oncology. A winding path and loads of training behind me, I returned to the Moran Eye Center, where I currently practice.

What drew you to ophthalmology and, specifically, to your field of interest?

I was initially drawn to medicine by young, budding idealism—it was as simple as hoping to help people. I do not come from a family of medical doctors; however, my father, who was an engineer, among many other things, pushed me toward education and a professional track.

During medical school, my sole focus was to pursue neurosurgery and focus on neuro-oncology, although I was also briefly tempted by gynecologic oncology. However, during my ophthalmology rotation in my third year of medical school, I worked with Bradley Farris, MD, at Dean McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma. It was his influence and guidance, as well as my learning about Dr. Tabin’s work in global ophthalmology, that pivoted my life course. Confronting my final year of medical school and the dim loom of application deadlines, I faced a reckoning that the life I had in mind for myself was not in line with my specialty of choice. I was drawn to the surgical aspects of ophthalmology as well as the genial personalities I encountered and the opportunities within global health. Global health had long been part of what drew me to medicine, as I have always had an interest in civil rights and humanitarian efforts. It seemed like ophthalmology offered room to pursue this in a meaningful way.

During my fourth year of medical school, as a means to further explore ophthalmology, I traveled to Swaziland for a month-long trip, during which I worked with the only ophthalmologist in the country, Jonathan Pons, MD. What I observed there was remarkable. Dr. Pons served as an eye doctor, anesthesiologist, and surgeon, not to mention pilot and farmer. Working with him was an inspirational and foundational experience that solidified my decision to pursue ophthalmology.

Please describe your current position.

Currently, I serve as the Director of the Ocular Oncology service and am also a vitreoretinal specialist at the Moran Eye Center. My time is split fairly evenly between the two specialties with notable overlap. My primary areas of interest include intraocular tumors, medical and surgical diseases of the retina, as well as surgical teaching and mentorship. I am also active within the local and international community through education and development of systems to support health care access.

Who are your mentors? 

To list the many mentors who have had significant impact on my life and career would read like a passage of Infinite Jest or a genealogic chapter in the Old Testament. Opening oneself to mentorship as a continual act of renewed curiosity and humility allows for many individuals—peers and teachers alike—to become influential and inspirational. In this way, countless friends, colleagues, and faculty have pushed me and my career forward, fundamentally altered the space I occupy as a physician or the manner in which I perceive that space, and inspired me to dig deeper and think bigger.

These mentors include Dr. Farris, who initiated my journey toward a global health focus in ophthalmology; Audina Berrocal, MD, my mentor in vitreoretinal surgery whose counsel and friendship I continue to hold dear and seek often; J. William Harbour, MD; Zelia M. Correa, MD, PhD; and Carol L. Karp, MD, who shaped me as an ocular oncologist and whose unique insights I now pass along to colleagues in Utah and abroad; Basil K. Williams Jr, MD—a friend, advocate, sponsor, and unrivaled colleague; Dr. Tabin, whose story brought me into the fold and whose mentorship and exposure to global ophthalmology showed me what is possible; and finally, Alan S. Crandall, MD, with his singular genius; and many other gifted mentors I have been privileged to work with at the Moran Eye Center.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career thus far?

It is exceedingly difficult to choose just one, so I would offer the aggregate of my experiences during my global ophthalmology fellowship. These include the long, exhausting, and rewarding days spent in high-volume surgical camps, the late nights spent alone with a local brew writing grants and contemplating the deep-seated inequities our world faces, the celebratory seafood dinner in Togo awarded with overnight detainment, and the opportunity to forge lasting relationships and discover mentors among the giants in the global arena of ophthalmology.

What are some new technological advances that you have found particularly exciting? Which advances in the pipeline are you most enthusiastic or curious about? 

I am excited to witness how AI will evolve our field. Already, AI is altering the paradigm for ocular disease screening and thereby improving health care access and outcomes. I believe we will continue to see increased adoption and development of AI solutions for clinical decision-making support, identification of imaging-based disease biomarkers, and optimization of electronic health record function and efficiency.

From a therapeutic perspective, I look forward to the expansion of gene therapy for retinal disease, and I am curious about how rapidly liquid biopsy will alter the diagnosis, prognostication, and monitoring of oncologic processes.

What is the focus of some of your research? 

I am currently working on a project investigating the impact on patient care of implementing a combined live and cloud-based teleophthalmology system at community eye centers in rural Nepal. I also am involved in retina and oncology clinical trials.

What is a typical day in your life? What keeps you busy, fulfilled, and passionate?

My schedule varies quite a bit day to day; however, a typical day involves an early coffee ritual merging into the morning rush, spinning plates all day in clinic or the OR, and trying to get outside or to the gym before the other end of the candle burns out. Work keeps me busy, understanding and caring for people keeps me fulfilled, and iterative, innovative progress keeps me passionate.

What advice can you offer to individuals who are just now choosing their career paths after finishing residency or fellowship?

Above all, know thyself, but realize that we never have it all figured out. Don’t be afraid to explore or to fail. Jump on opportunities that resonate and realize that paths are dynamic—they evolve just as you do. Set boundaries around work and commit to the people and passions outside of your career that keep your cup full and fire burning. As you seek advice and mentorship early in your career, ask difficult questions, probe the subjects that seem taboo, and attach yourself to people whose paths inspire you. We often get bogged down by the binary questions that face us—realize that so much remains open-ended and for you to define.

Tell us about an innovative procedure you are performing or new imaging/diagnostic tool that has improved your practice.

I was fortunate to train under Drs. Correa and Harbour, who are leaders in the area of intraocular biopsy. I frequently utilize iterations of their techniques in my own practice to direct care for intraocular tumors.