USC Roski Eye Institute's Amir H. Kashani named to The Ophthalmologist 'Rising Stars' Power List 2017

The Power List, which publishes in April, is an international celebration of ophthalmology's thought leaders and inspirational talents, and this year focuses on the "rising stars" in the field. More than 36,000 readers across Europe and North America vote for their peers for inclusion in this annual list. Receiving this accolade is acknowledgment by his contemporaries that Kashani's contributions to the advancements in ophthalmology are only expected to grow in influence over the next decade.

"I'm extremely honored to be included in this accomplished list of ophthalmologists and to be seen by The Ophthalmology readers as one of the innovators in the field" said Kashani.

As a clinician-scientist at USC, Kashani treats patients with both medical and surgical retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusions, and retinal detachments among other common retinal diseases. He also specializes in complex retinal detachment surgeries.

In his laboratory, Kashani is developing novel imaging methods for earlier diagnosis and better treatment of chronic conditions such as with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal vascular occlusion.  Kashani's lab was one of a few sites around the United States that helped with the clinical development of the first FDA approved OCT Angiography device in 2016.  He is also the principal investigator for an experimental stem cell-based therapy for severe vision loss from advanced dry age-related macular degeneration.  Currently, there is no cure or treatment for severe vision loss from dry age-related macular degeneration.

Kashani is co-author of a book entitled, "Optical Coherence Tomography and OCT Angiography: Clinical Reference and Case Studies," intended for use by clinicians, technicians and imagers.  He has co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, 2 book chapters, several reviews and is an NIH-funded investigator.  In 2016, Kashani was nominated as one of the top 150 innovators in medical and surgical retina by Ocular Surgery News.   Kashani is an assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. 

Kashani is the third USC Roski Eye Institute ophthalmologist to be named to The Ophthalmologist's Power List since its inception in 2014 joining Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, and Carmen Puliafito, MD, MBA, both Power List honorees in 2016.  

About the USC Roski Eye Institute (usceye.org)
The USC Roski Eye Institute, part of the Keck Medicine of USC university-based medical enterprise, has been a leader in scientific research and innovative clinical treatments for more than 40 years.  Ranked No. 2 in National Eye Institute (NEI) research grants for academically-based ophthalmology departments and nationally ranked in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" issue for more than 22 years, the USC Roski Eye Institute is headquartered in Los Angeles with clinics in Arcadia, Beverly Hills and Pasadena. Faculty physicians are also the exclusive ophthalmic doctors affiliated with L.A. County + USC Medical Center (LAC+USC) and Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

Patients from across the country come to see the USC Roski Eye Institute experts who treat a comprehensive array of eye diseases across the life spectrum from infants to aging seniors. The USC Roski Eye Institute is known for its scientific research and clinical innovation including:

• Creator of the FDA approved Argus retinal prosthesis implant (also known as the "bionic eye") for retinitis pigmentosa patients
• Leader in NEI eye disease research among multi-ethnic populations
• Developer of stem cell therapies for those who have age-related macular degeneration
• Discovered the gene that is the cause of the most common eye cancer in children
• Treatment for eye infections for AIDS patients
• Inventors of the FDA approved XEN stent, the most widely used glaucoma implant in the world
• Pioneers of a device for long-term intraocular drug delivery
• Creator 25 years ago and ongoing leader in OCT research
• Leading researchers of eye disease prevention and treatment as part of the Human Connectome brain mapping research

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SOURCE USC Roski Eye Institute