Royce W.S. Chen, MD

Tongalp H. Tezel, MD is the Chang Family Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology and the Director of the Vitreoretinal Service and Fellowship Program at the Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Tezel is an internationally known clinician-scientist and a leader in the management of vitreoretinal diseases. Dr. Tezel received his medical degree and initial ophthalmology training in Ankara, Turkey at Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, and completed his ophthalmology residency at Washington University School of Medicine. He later trained under Dr. Stanley Chang and received his fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery here at Columbia University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Retina Specialists, the Macula Society, The Retina Society, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He has received numerous honors, including the Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (FARVO), American Academy of Ophthalmology's Achievement Award, Alpha Omega Alpha Faculty Membership; Honor Award of the American Society of Retina Specialist, and several Awards for Excellence in Teaching. He is listed on the Best Doctors of America and Castle Connolly's Top Doctor Directory. Dr. Tezel's research laboratory focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms of various retinal diseases. His main research interests include gene therapy for age-related macular degeneration, inherited retinal diseases, retinal stem cell transplantation, angiogenesis, pharmacologic vitreolysis, and tissue engineering. He has developed several techniques used for tissue engineering and retinal cell replacement therapies, awarded numerous patents for his contributions. Recently, he has embarked on gene treatment and tissue engineering trials for macular degeneration. Dr. Tezel is an ad-hoc reviewer for several journals in his field and has been contributing to the development of the vitreoretinal field with several publications, presentations, and invited lectures.

Sharon Park Keh, O.D., F.A.A.O. is Assistant Professor in Optometric Sciences (in Ophthalmology) at CUMC. She was previously Associate Clinical Professor at the State University of New York College of Optometry, where she has been teaching since 2013. Dr. Keh has a Doctor of Optometry degree from Nova Southeastern University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Michigan.Dr. Keh's areas of expertise include cornea and contact lenses, and she completed a residency in these areas at Ophthalmic Consultants at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. In addition to her work as an optometrist, Dr. Keh is also a dedicated educator. She has extensive experience teaching optometry students at all levels, from first-year courses to advanced clinical electives. Dr. Keh has taught courses on topics such as contact lenses, clinical case management, corneal surgeries, and ocular conditions in developing regions. She has also served as a clinical preceptor and laboratory instructor.Dr. Keh's research interests include evaluating soft contact lenses for myopia control, scleral contact lenses, and assessing axial eye length changes in pediatric patients wearing optical head-mounted displays. She has served as a principal investigator on several studies, and has received research funding from Johnson and Johnson Vision Care, Inc. and Kubota Vision, Inc.Dr. Keh is licensed to practice optometry in the state of New York, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. She has received several awards and honors throughout her career, including the Vistakon Award of Excellence in Contact Lens Patient Care, the Jack Wolfe Memorial Scholarship, and induction into the Beta Sigma Kappa International Honor Society. She has given lectures and presented scientific posters at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS).

Leejee H. Suh, M.D., the Miranda Wong Tang Professor of Ophthalmology, is the Director of the Cornea Service at Columbia University's Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute. She also heads the Laser Vision Center. Her surgical specialties include femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, phacoemulsification cataract surgery, LASIK (Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis), PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy), PTK (Phototherapeutic Keratectomy), and full and partial corneal transplantation. She received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and her medical degree from the New York University (N.Y.U.) School of Medicine. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center and received her fellowship training at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Hospitals, where she was a faculty member in the Division of Cornea and Refractive Surgery. Dr. Suh brings to Columbia her experience from the top ophthalmological institutions in the country, with an extensive background in cataract, corneal, and refractive surgery. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on corneal conditions and is active in clinical research. Her clinical research interests are in keratoconus research and treatments, namely Corneal Collagen Crosslinking. She has been the Principal Investigator for the Corneal Collagen Crosslinking trial for the treatment of keratoconus and post-refractive surgery ectasia at Columbia University. For her work in keratoconus, Dr. Suh has been named a Top Doctor for the National Keratoconus Foundation (NKCF). She was instrumental in the early studies of a newer type of partial corneal transplantation, called endothelial keratoplasty, which includes Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) and Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), both of which have dramatically changed the face of surgical treatments for corneal diseases. As a cornea-refractive surgeon by training, she is an expert in the latest in cataract surgery called femtosecond-laser assisted cataract surgery, in which a femtosecond laser can make precise and customized corneal and lens incisions for cataract surgery, which is combined with implantation of standard monofocal, toric, and multifocal/trifocal intraocular lens implants. With her extensive experience in corneal surgery, she is also an expert in laser vision correction and keratorefractive surgery (LASIK, PRK, and PTK). Dr. Suh has been certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She has presented at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Asian-Pacific Association for Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APACRS), and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). She is an active reviewer for such journals as Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, Eye, and Cornea. Dr. Suh continues to lecture nationally and internationally on her research and experience.