Nine Bascom Palmer doctors named to Power List Honoring Top Women in Ophthalmology

MIAMI, April 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nine esteemed ophthalmologists at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute were selected for The Ophthalmologist Power List 2021, which honors the world's 100 most influential women in the field of ophthalmology.

Audina M. Berrocal, M.D., Hilda Capo, M.D., Janet L. Davis, M.D., M.B.A., Kendall E. Donaldson, M.D., M.S., Anat Galor, M.D., Alana Grajewski, M.D., Ranya G. Habash, M.D., Carol L. Karp, M.D., and Sonia Yoo, M.D., were named to the Power List as published in The Ophthalmologist magazine.

"We applaud these exceptional women for their expertise, integrity, inspiration, leadership, and commitment to patients and physicians worldwide," said Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D., the Kathleen and Stanley J. Glaser Chair in Ophthalmology and director of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Health System.  "They personify the very best of ophthalmology."

A retina and vitreous disease specialist, Dr. Audina Berrocal is a world leader in the medical and surgical management of retinopathy of prematurity and pediatric vitreoretinal disorders. She has been the first surgeon to treat the youngest patient in the United States with the first FDA-approved gene therapy.  She also devotes time to teach and support women in the field of ophthalmology and retina.

Holder of the John T. Flynn Chair in Ophthalmology, Dr. Hilda Capo is a specialist in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus.  She is world renowned for her expertise in strabismus and adjustable sutures and a pioneer in identifying the anesthetic agent's role in onset of double vision after cataract surgery.  She has trained more than 175 residents and fellows, reaffirming her abilities as an academician, educator, and surgeon.

Dr. Janet Davis is an internationally recognized expert in uveitis as well as a medical retina and vitreoretinal specialist. She holds the Leach Chair in Ophthalmology. Her expertise includes infectious and inflammatory diseases of the eye.  For the last four years, she has led the Bascom Palmer surgical team that has performed more than 100 subretinal gene therapy procedures for inherited retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and choroideremia. 

Dr. Kendall Donaldson is a cornea specialist whose primary research interests are in the areas of advancement in cataract surgery, and in particular, laser-assisted cataract surgery, as well as severe ocular surface disease. Each year, she presents more than 100 lectures at the local, national and international level, and has authored a variety of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

Dr. Anat Galor is an expert on ocular surface pain and dry eye, and its relationship with neuropathic ocular pain.  She is also an expert in the epidemiology and treatment of persistent pain after LASIK. Dr. Galor has evaluated the efficacy of several therapies in the treatment of neuropathic ocular pain. She has also focused on how ocular surface symptoms affect quality of life. 

For more than two decades, Dr. Alana Grajewski has been a leader in the international effort to eradicate blindness from pediatric glaucoma. She established the Samuel & Ethel Balkan International Pediatric Glaucoma Center at Bascom Palmer, the first integrated services center dedicated to pediatric glaucoma and anterior segment dysgenesis. An expert in the specialized surgical treatment, her influence has been felt worldwide through patient care and education.

Deeply involved in the information technology aspect of medicine, Dr. Ranya Habash is working to unite the world and help patients through technology.  As chief medical officer of Everbridge and co-founder of HipaaBridge, she instituted Bascom Palmer's successful telemedicine program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing patients immediate access to Bascom Palmer's ophthalmologists. Dr. Habash was also named to the Power List in 2017.

Dr. Carol Karp, holder of the Richard K. Forster Chair in Ophthalmology, and the Dr. Ronald and Alicia Lepke Endowed Professorship in Corneal and External Diseases, is an expert in the management of ocular surface oncology and anterior segment surgery. In the late 1990s, she pioneered the use of interferon for the treatment for ocular surface squamous neoplasia. Her work has helped to change the standard of care of these lesions. Dr. Karp was also named to the Power List in 2019.

An expert in vision correction surgery, Dr. Sonia Yoo is recognized as one of the world's most skilled cornea, cataract and refractive surgeons, with exceptional experience and knowledge of the field. Associate medical director of Bascom Palmer and holder of the Greentree Hickman Chair in Ophthalmology, Dr. Yoo is interested in the development and evaluation of new diagnostic and surgical technologies, as well as laser applications. She was also named to the Power List in 2018.

Bascom Palmer's faculty members have been well represented on the Power List since its inception in 2014. In addition to Dr. Alfonso, who is a corneal and external diseases specialist, retina specialists Philip J. Rosenfeld, M.D., M.B.A., and Harry W. Flynn, Jr., M.D.; ocular oncologist J. William Harbour, M.D.; and glaucoma specialist Richard K. Parrish, II, M.D., have been honored as the most influential doctors in the field.

About Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, is ranked the nation's best in ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report, an honor it has received for the 19^th time, and by Ophthalmology Times.  In addition to its international reputation as one of the premier providers of eye care in the world, Bascom Palmer is the largest ophthalmic care, research and educational facility in the southeastern United States.  Each year, more than 260,000 patients with nearly every ophthalmic condition are treated, and more than 16,000 surgeries are performed. With five patient care facilities in Florida (Miami, Palm Beach Gardens, Naples, Plantation, and Coral Gables), the Institute serves as the Department of Ophthalmology for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and is directed by Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D. Bascom Palmer faculty members also staff the Miami and West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital.

SOURCE Bascom Palmer Eye Institute