Up Close and Personal with 2002 Award Winners

Jonathan L. Prenner, MD

I am the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where I serve as Clinical Professor. I am also a partner at NJRetina. I serve as the Ophthalmology service chief of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. I am Chairman of Education and a member of the executive committee for the American Society of Retinal Specialists (ASRS). I also serve as both the Review Article Section Editor and Assistant Editor of RETINA: the Journal of Retina and Vitreous Diseases.

I have published 85 papers in the peer-reviewed literature in addition to a volume of textbook chapters, articles and scientific abstracts. I have a particular interest in the surgical management of complex intraocular lens scenarios.

I remain a dedicated skier and guitar player, but I love spending time most with my wife of 18 years (Becky) and our children Sofia (13) and Maxwell (9). We live near our childhood homes, in Princeton, NJ.

Franco Recchia, MD

Following eight instructive years on the faculty of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in 2012 I joined Tennessee Retina, PC, a physician-owned practice in Nashville, Tennessee, where I am a partner and serve on the Executive Committee of our affiliated tertiary-care hospital. The structure and breadth of our practice have enabled me to provide efficient patient-centered care and to maintain a busy pediatric vitreoretinal referral practice serving much of the Southeast.

I have continued my research activity both through our practice’s involvement in numerous early-phase and registration clinical trials and individually through my ongoing interest in clinical aspects of pediatric retinal conditions and retinal vascular disease. I have continued other academic activities of scientific publication, peer review, invited lectures, meeting presentations, participation in specialty societies, and teaching of international fellows.

Personal interests include travel, music, cycling, and mentoring two growing sons.

Kourous A. Rezaei, MD

Kourous A. Rezaei, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Rush University Medical Center. He is the Director of Vitreoretinal Fellowship program at Illinois Retina Associates and Rush University Medical Center. He is a senior partner at Illinois Retina Associates and has been with the group since 2005.

Dr. Rezaei also serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at the IVERIC bio corporation. IVERIC bio is currently assessing the potential role of ZImura, a novel complement C5 inhibitor in dry AMD, and AR Stargardt disease; and gene therapy options in autosomal dominant RP, Best Disease, LCA-10, and Usher Syndrome Type 2A.

When not working, Dr. Rezaei and his wife Lili enjoy spending time with their two sons Sam and Sohrab. He especially enjoys watching his sons play baseball, traveling, jogging, and watching Formula One races.

Tongalp H. Tezel, MD

Tongalp H Tezel, MD is an internationally well-known clinician-scientist and a leader in managing vitreoretinal diseases. He is the Chang Family Professor of Ophthalmology and the Director of the Retina Service and the Vitreoretinal Fellowship program at the Harkness Eye Institute of Columbia University in New York. He was important in initiating human photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium transplantation and drug development for pharmacologic vitreolysis.

His diverse research interests include age-related macular degeneration, enzymatic pharmacolysis, tissue engineering, artificial intelligence, gene treatment, and angiogenesis. He is a member of several professional organizations, demonstrating his broad expertise and commitment to the field of ophthalmology.