Peter Tang, MD, PhD

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.

Mauricio B. Pereira, M.D., Ph.D., is a sub-subspecialist in vitreoretinal surgery. Dr. Pereira has received several awards and distinctions for excellence in ophthalmology in his over 20 years of Ophthalmology practice. Dr. Pereira is active in clinical research, having published many scientific works at society meetings, including peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and abstracts.As a full member of the Brazilian Vitreous and Retina Society and Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology, Dr. Pereira is active in teaching at national and international ophthalmology conferences. Dr. Pereira is a regular reviewer for peer-reviewed journals, such as the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports and Brazilian Archives of Ophthalmology (ABO), and Revista Brasileira de Oftalmologia (RBO).Dr. Pereira received his medical degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 1994, one of Brazil's most traditional and oldest medical schools. He completed his training in ophthalmology at Federal Servidores do Estado Hospital and was certified by the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology in 2000. He completed a two-year vitreoretinal fellowship training at the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP). He was granted a prize by the BRAVS for a study of "Mechanisms of Retinal Adhesion." Dr. Pereira also completed his Ph.D. with distinction on "Indocyanine green video angiography in blunt traumatic chorioretinopathy" at UNIFESP.In 2009, he joined the Federal Fluminense University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology for nine years and then as Associate Professor for four years. During his academic career, he was pivotal in helping the Department achieve the top 6 Ophthalmology Residency Programs in Brazil and 8th in Latin America. He also participated as a Federal Fluminense University Medical Board of Ethics Committee member. Dr. Pereira joined the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, in 2023 for a second vitreoretinal fellowship.His contributions to the medical field include directly training more than 200 ophthalmologists as residents or retina fellows. Among his contributions, two publications were the first reports of Susac's Syndrome in Brazil in 2000 and autofluorescence findings in Benign Concentric Annular Macular Dystrophy in 2019. Dr. Pereira has performed thousands of eye surgeries and has significantly contributed to the treatment of eye diseases and blindness prevention in Brazil. His main interests are retina, vitreous, complications of cataract surgery, and surgical treatment of macular disorders.

Mauricio B. Pereira, M.D., Ph.D., is a sub-subspecialist in vitreoretinal surgery. Dr. Pereira has received several awards and distinctions for excellence in ophthalmology in his over 20 years of Ophthalmology practice. Dr. Pereira is active in clinical research, having published many scientific works at society meetings, including peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and abstracts. As a full member of the Brazilian Vitreous and Retina Society and Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology, Dr. Pereira is active in teaching at national and international ophthalmology conferences. Dr. Pereira is a regular reviewer for peer-reviewed journals, such as the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports and Brazilian Archives of Ophthalmology (ABO), and Revista Brasileira de Oftalmologia (RBO). Dr. Pereira received his medical degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 1994, one of Brazil's most traditional and oldest medical schools. He completed his training in ophthalmology at Federal Servidores do Estado Hospital and was certified by the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology in 2000. He completed a two-year vitreoretinal fellowship training at the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP). He was granted a prize by the BRAVS for a study of "Mechanisms of Retinal Adhesion." Dr. Pereira also completed his Ph.D. with distinction on "Indocyanine green video angiography in blunt traumatic chorioretinopathy" at UNIFESP. In 2009, he joined the Federal Fluminense University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology for nine years and then as Associate Professor for four years. During his academic career, he was pivotal in helping the Department achieve the top 6 Ophthalmology Residency Programs in Brazil and 8th in Latin America. He also participated as a Federal Fluminense University Medical Board of Ethics Committee member. Dr. Pereira joined the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, in 2023 for a second vitreoretinal fellowship. His contributions to the medical field include directly training more than 200 ophthalmologists as residents or retina fellows. Among his contributions, two publications were the first reports of Susac's Syndrome in Brazil in 2000 and autofluorescence findings in Benign Concentric Annular Macular Dystrophy in 2019. Dr. Pereira has performed thousands of eye surgeries and has significantly contributed to the treatment of eye diseases and blindness prevention in Brazil. His main interests are retina, vitreous, complications of cataract surgery, and surgical treatment of macular disorders.