Up Close and Personal with 2009 Award Winners

Justis P. Ehlers, MD

Since 2010, I have been at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute and serve as the Norman C. and Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair for Ophthalmic Research and the Director of The Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research. I am a member of the Retina Society, Macula Society, and the American Society of Retina Specialists.

My research laboratory focuses on translational intraoperative OCT technology and advanced image analysis platforms, including radiomics and machine learning. In addition to image-guided surgery, my primary research interests are in the identification of imaging biomarkers for diabetic eye disease and AMD that provide enhanced information for precision therapeutics.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two children.

Tushar M. Ranchod, MD

I am a partner at Bay Area Retina Associates (BARA) in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am fortunate to work with a group of partners who foster an unusually close, engaged, and caring work environment while also maintaining the highest quality of care. In 2013, I founded BroadSpot Imaging Corporation to dramatically decrease the size and cost of ultra-widefield retinal imaging technology. The company developed a novel multi-channel handheld imaging platform to reach patients in any setting but also to serve as a backbone for machine learning applications in systemic disease. Over the years, my role shifted from CEO to Chief Technology Officer and Chairman until the technology was acquired in 2021. The journey from early-stage funding and technology development through IP portfolio development, industrial design, user interface refinement, and clinical trials was a dense and enriching experience. I have subsequently enjoyed applying the many lessons I learned to my clinical practice as well as other settings.

I have been involved in the annual ASRS Business of Retina meeting for over a decade now, and I have enjoyed shaping that meeting as it has continued to grow. The business side of our specialty (management, logistics, finance, operations, strategy) is increasingly complex and I find great satisfaction in merging my clinical and business interests and experience. Leadership in our field looks different now than it did 5 years ago, and our future leaders will have an even more diverse and multifaceted professional environment to which they must adapt; all of us in the Michels community and beyond share a responsibility to ensure their success.

My hobbies include poetry, rap, sewing and cooking, and of course spending time with my wife and daughter.

Chirag P. Shah, MD, MPH

I practice at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston where I am the Co-Director of the Tufts/OCB Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job is training our four outstanding surgical fellows, who regularly teach me more than I teach them. I am an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

At any given time, I am actively involved as a sub-investigator or principal investigator on numerous clinical trials. I serve as Editor of the Clinical Trials Section of Retina Times. I was awarded the ASRS's Senior Honor Award and the Academy's Achievement Award. I am proud to have run the 2018 and 2020 Boston Marathon for the Massachusetts Association of the Blind and Visually impaired, raising funds and awareness for a noble charity that has helped so many patients in need.

When I am not working, I value my time with my wife and two children. Despite our busy individual schedules, we always make our nightly family dinner a priority.

Steven Yeh, MD

I am currently Professor and Stanley Truhlsen Jr. Chair in Ophthalmology at the Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center where I continue to provide Uveitis and Vitreoretinal Surgery for the Midwest and Great Plains region. During my ten years at Emory and more recently, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, I have had opportunities to lead a clinical research team that studies infectious and noninfectious uveitis, clinical application of laboratory and molecular diagnostics, drug delivery, and global ophthalmic health.

Our global ophthalmic health work involves the study of Ebola, emerging infectious diseases, and understanding the eye as a surveillance organ for multiple infectious and immunologic processes. We have also leveraged our studies in Ebola to understand vision health systems infrastructure with collaborations in Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Honduras. It's been thrilling to see how the privilege of mentorship with Uveitis and Retina Fellows in the U.S. aligns with the goals of mentorship and partnerships globally, which reflects the spirit of the Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Foundation.