Up Close and Personal with 2008 Award Winners

Omesh P. Gupta, MD, MBA

I am a member of the Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital, a partner at Mid-Atlantic Retina, and Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University. I enjoy serving on the Wills Eye Hospital Perioperative Steering Committee, acting as a Co-Editor of the Retina Education Section in Retina Times, and serving on the editorial board of New Retina MD and Yearbook of Ophthalmology. It has been an honor to be awarded the ASRS Senior Honor Award and the AAO Achievement Award. Above all, I value my teaching role with the top-notch medical students, residents, clinical fellows, research fellows, and international visitors that learn at Wills Eye Hospital every year. I have been awarded multiple Wills Innovation Grants and J. Arch McNamara Research Grants for my work on surgical retinal disease and teleophthalmology.

I love my time outside work and stay busy with my wife and two kids. I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and help teach classes. I also enjoy traveling, playing tennis, and exploring Philadelphia restaurants.

Rahul N. Khurana, MD

Rahul Khurana, MD, is President and Chief Executive Officer at Northern California Retina Vitreous Associates and an Associate Clinical Professor in Ophthalmology at UCSF Medical Center. He currently serves as the Secretary of Online Education for the American Academy of Ophthalmology which includes Eyewiki, the ONE Network, and Clinical Webinars; and the Past President of the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the AAO's Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE) Network. Dr. Khurana has published over 150 peer reviewed papers, presented over 200 scientific abstracts and presentations, and involved over 130 clinical trials.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Khurana is an avid sports fan, passionately cheering for the Stanford Cardinal, 49ers and Warriors. He especially enjoys spending time with his wife and three children exploring the beautiful Bay Area.

Amy C. Schefler, MD

I am currently a partner at Retina Consultants of Texas as well as a Clinical Associate Professor at University of Texas-Houston and Weill Medical College, Houston Methodist Hospital Location, and Baylor College of Medicine. My clinical and research interest is in ocular oncology, and my practice is geared almost exclusively these days toward adults and children with ocular tumors such as retinoblastoma and melanoma.

I design and run clinical trials in patients with ocular tumors and enjoy research immensely. The UT-Houston ophthalmology residents and Baylor retina fellows are in my clinic and OR and keep me on my toes. I enjoy serving as the Fundraising Committee Chair for the Michels Foundation and meeting all the talented winners at our yearly meeting. It is an esteemed group of which I am proud to be a member.

In my spare time, I am lucky to have an loving and supportive husband and 2 kids, aged 16 and 14, who are happy and healthy, and have supplied me with a lifetime of love already in their short years.

Ron (Mehran) Taban, MD

Mehran (Ron) Taban M.D. is a distinguished ophthalmologist specializing in medical and surgical management of the retina and macula in the greater Los Angeles area. A Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, he is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of UCLA. He then graduated at the top of his medical school class at the University of California Irvine, achieving status in Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society. Dr. Taban has undergone rigorous ophthalmology training, including residency at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, being appointed as the Chief Resident, followed by vitreoretinal fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in surgical and medical retina. He founded Macula Retina Vitreous Center in 2014 servicing needs of Torrance and Los Angeles CA communities.

Outside of work, Dr. Taban enjoys catching up with family and friends as well as studying history, hiking and jogging.

Mark K. Walsh, MD, PhD

After finishing residency in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins then fellowship at Associated Retinal Consultants in Royal Oak Michigan, I headed to the sunny Southwest and fell in love with the desert. I’ve been in Tucson Arizona since 2009 where I am a partner at Retina Associates. My practice is primarily adult retina but my pediatric surgical patients continue to be my most challenging and also my most rewarding. Our practice is highly involved in numerous national and international clinical research trials.

Additionally, I have a keen interest in new and improved surgical techniques including sutureless scleral fixation of intraocular lenses. I am also an active volunteer faculty for the University of Arizona College of Medicine’s ophthalmology residency and have been happy to help steer several of them into vitreoretinal surgery fellowships. It’s been a joy to help teach our invariably excellent residents.

In my free time, I most enjoy traveling with my wife and two daughters and golfing with my girls in Tucson’s sunshine!