Jeffrey P. Blice, MD

Karolinne Maia Rocha M.D. Ph.D. is a sub-subspecialist in cataract, cornea, and refractive surgery. Dr. Rocha has received awards and distinctions for excellence in ophthalmology including the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Achievement Award in 2012, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation Resident Excellence Award in 2012 and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Teaching Excellence Recognition Award in 2013. Dr. Rocha is active in clinical research, having published over 100 scientific works including peer review publications, book chapters, and abstracts in society meetings. As a member of the executive subcommittee of the International Society of Refractive Surgery International Council, Dr. Rocha is active in teaching at national and international ophthalmology conferences. She has served as a course instructor at the American Academy of Ophthalmology laser refractive skills transfer course since 2009 and teaches courses on corneal collagen cross-linking and corneal topography. Dr. Rocha is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Journal of Refractive Surgery, Cornea, and the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Dr. Rocha is also an associate editor for the Brazilian Archives of Ophthalmology (ABO).Dr. Rocha completed her postdoctoral fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2009 where she worked intimately with adaptive optics. She published one of the first clinical applications of adaptive optics characterizing the exact amount of higher order aberrations that balances depth of focus with quality of vision -- work that is widely cited in ophthalmic research. Dr. Rocha completed a second postdoctoral fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Emory University in 2010 where she played instrumental roles in the lead investigational study on corneal collagen cross-linking, corneal biomechanics and topography-guided laser ablation. Dr. Rocha received her medical degree from State University of Londrina in Parana, Brazil in 2002. After obtaining her M.D. she completed training in ophthalmology at Federal University of S&~o Paulo and was certified by the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology in 2005. As a second year resident she received the XXXIII Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology Surgical Skills Prize. After completion of a fellowship in anterior segment surgery in 2007, she served as assistant of ophthalmology at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Subsequently, she completed her Ph.D. & "Optical aberrations in pseudophakic and cataractous eyes, &" also at the Federal University of Sao Paulo. Dr. Rocha was the first ophthalmologist to be awarded the highest honor by the Brazilian government for her Ph.D. thesis.Dr. Rocha completed her second ophthalmology residency at the Cole Eye Institute-Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. She joined the faculty of MUSC/Storm Eye Institute in Charleston, South Carolina in 2014 and she is currently the director of the cornea and refractive surgery division.

Karen Brian Fernandez, MD is a highly-rated physician specializing in cataract surgery, cornea and refractive surgery, and ophthalmology in Charleston, SC. With expertise in multiple languages, including English and Filipino, Dr. Fernandez provides exceptional care to her patients, earning a 4.7 rating based on 435 reviews.Generated from the website

Tala Kassm, D.O. is a board certified ophthalmologist sub-specializing in the treatment of glaucoma and cataracts. She joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2018 as a glaucoma fellow, honing her skills as a cataract surgeon while learning the fine details of glaucoma surgical and medical care. During her fellowship, she became femtosecond laser certified on the Catalys laser so that she can offer her patients laser assisted cataract surgery. She then decided to continue her career at MUSC as an attending physician and assistant professor. In her short time as the glaucoma fellow at MUSC, Dr. Kassm created and led the Glaucoma Support Group at the Storm Eye Institute as she has a passion for well-rounded patient care, offering her patients the opportunity to interact with each other as well as their physician in a relaxed environment while learning more about glaucoma. Prior to joining her colleagues at MUSC, Dr. Kassm earned her medical degree from A.T. Still University in Arizona. As a medical student, Dr. Kassm received the Outstanding Student Award and the Robert F. Crawford Scholastic Achievement Award which is only granted to one exceptional student in the graduating class for overall academic and clinical excellence. After obtaining her D.O. degree, she went on to complete her ophthalmology residency training at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. During her residency, she developed a strong interest in educating fellow physicians about ophthalmology and delivered a wide variety of lectures to fellow physicians and medical students about ophthalmology. However, her greatest passion during her training was for learning and sharpening her skills as a cataract surgeon. During her residency alone, she performed hundreds of cataract surgeries, including surgeries using toric lenses to correct astigmatism and multifocal lenses to help patients gain independence from glasses. She has experience with monovision lenses, limbal relaxing incisions and LASIK. Since completing her training, she has performed over a thousand intraocular procedures.Dr. Kassm has thoroughly enjoyed dedicating her time and services to many community organizations such as the Storm Eye Sight Organization, West End Boys School Eye Screening Campaign, the Leukocoria Campaign in association with the Children’s Eye Foundation and Kentucky School for the Blind, Home of the Innocence, and Kendall Optometry Ministry, Inc. organizing and sorting glasses for those who cannot afford them.Not only does she have a robust dedication to both patient and physician education, but she also enjoys spending time with each of her patients in order to thoroughly explain their disease and treatment plan. Dr. Kassm is a precisely skilled surgeon who understands the importance of detail in such a field as ophthalmology.