Board of Directors

President: Billy K. Yeh, M.D. Ph.D.
Research Director: Scheffer C.G. Tseng, M.D., Ph.D.
Finance Committee Chair: Billy K. Yeh, M.D. Ph.D.
Treasurer: Scheffer C.G. Tseng, M.D., Ph.D.

Directors

Steven L. Maskin, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Maskin is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Medicine. After completing his ophthalmology residency at the University of Texas in San Antonio, he went on to sub specialize in Eye Surface Diseases and Cornea at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. His fellowship was for three years focusing on diagnosis and medical and surgical therapy of common and rare diseases of the eye surface and cornea.

Dr. Maskin has authored many articles in the peer review literature. Included amongst his contributions is his discovery of a cure for cancer of the eye surface. The importance of this report was recognized by eye doctors around the world and was ultimately translated and published in Spanish and Chinese.

Dr. Maskin is also a leader in development and creation of a method to reconstruct the surface of the eye using Amniotic Membrane for surface reconstruction. One example of its usefulness is in the setting of chronically irritated dry eyes from conjunctivochalasis . Read about how a patient was helped with amniotic membrane surface reconstruction from conjunctivochalasis . He is a co-author of papers specifically focused on its usage. In a prospective controlled study, patients with symptoms of dry eye and irritation with concomitant conjunctival wrinkling or chalasis enjoyed significant relief of symptoms from surface reconstruction using amniotic membrane without need for punctal occlusions. Along with symptom relief patients also had improved vision of one to three lines on the eye chart, increased wetting on their Schirmer’s tear test and now require only infrequent tear supplementation. In dramatic cases, patient’s went from using artificial tears every 30 minutes pre-op to less than 4 times a day post-op. Read about how ocular surface reconstruction using amniotic membrane with ocular surface management restored vision to a blind 50 year old nurse.

Dr. Maskin’s research also includes the creation and development of a natural lipid containing tear replacement eye drop to provide quick relief to dry eye sufferers.

Dr. Maskin has now also authored the first consumer book on dry eye. “Reversing Dry Eye Syndrome” will serve as a primer to all consumers interested in this potentially blinding disease.

Dr. Maskin can be contacted at the Cornea and Eye Surface Center by phone at 813-875-0000 or online at www.drmaskin.com.

Tung-Tien (Henry) Sun, Ph.D.

Dr. Tung-Tien, received PhD in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, in 1974, and his postdoctoral training at MIT from 1974-1978. He was assistant professor of Dermatology and Cell Biology and Anatomy (1978-81), and associate professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Dermatology and Ophthalmology (1981-1982) at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He moved to New York University Medical School in 1982, where he is currently Professor of Cell Biology, Pharmacology and Urology, and Rudolf L. Baer Professor of Dermatology.

He has demonstrated that keratins are expressed in a pair-wise fashion and represent markers for different lineages and stages of epithelial differentiation; that corneal epithelial and hair follicle stem cells reside in the limbus and bulge, respectively (with Robert Lavker of Northwestern); and that uroplakins represent major urothelial differentiation products. He has received many awards including the Alcon Award in Vision Research, William Scott Senior Lectureship of Hopkins Medical School; Liu Lectureship of Stanford Medical School; Susan Swerling Lectureship of Harvard Medical School, Dean’s Lectureship of NYU Medical School, and Borden Lectureship of British Society of Cell Biol. He is a fellow of Am Assoc Adv Science and a member of the Academia Sinica of Taiwan.

Kazuo Tsubota, M.D.

An internationally recognized dry eye specialist, Professor Kazuo Tsubota has been working on the pathogenesis and treatment of dry eye. Professor Tsubota is Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Keio University School of Medicine, his alma mater , where he received his MD in 1980. He was the first Japanese recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award in 1994. He heads a very large and active dry eye research group as well as the largest refractive group in Japan, which has several clinics throughout the country. Dr. Tsubota has many research projects underway which include ocular surface reconstruction, regeneration of the cornea, lacrimal gland, immunology of Sjogren’s syndrome and wound healing of refractive surgery. His personal interest is actively researching dry eye, an aging disease, which has led to dry eye research from the aspect of anti-aging. He is author of more than 350 peer reviewed articles, including, New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Immunology, FASEB Journal and The American Journal of Ophthalmology. He holds editorial positions on four major ophthalmic journals as well as being a regular reviewer for many international ophthalmic journals.

V.K. Raju, M.D.

Dr. Raju graduated from Andhra University in 1965. He obtained his D.O. from University of London and Royal College of Surgeons in 1971 and his F.R.C.S. from the University of Edinburgh and Royal College of Surgeons in 1975. He completed his residency in India at the Senior House Physicians in Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine in 1966. He also completed residencies in England as a Casualty Officer at St. Helier Hospital in 1969 and as a Resident in Ophthalmology at Sutton General Hospital in 1970. He became a Board Certified in Ophthalmologist in 1978 and has licensure in West Virginia and Louisiana. Dr. Raju was on the faculty for the Department of Ophthalmology at West Virginia University from 1977-1984 and continues as a clinical professor while operating his private practice.

Dr. Raju has conducted research in many ocular surface conditions including ocular surface keratocyte function, pterygium, demodex, and vitamin A deficiency. He has contributed to the publication of 57 papers with additional works in the publishing process and has lectured around the globe on ocular surface disease and treatment.

Dr. Raju currently serves as the President of the Eye Foundation of America. He is a member of the AAPI Prevention of Blindness committee and serves on the board of directors for both the Ocular Surface Research and Education Foundation and the International Ocular Surface Society. Since 1977 he has generously given his time and talents to the Eye Relief Project in India and helped establish the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology in Rural India in 1983.

Dr. Raju has received service and recognition awards for his contributions to ophthalmology from organizations such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Medical Association Foundation, and American Association of Ophthalmologists of Indian Origin.

If you would like to read on Dr. Raju’s most recent accomplishments, please click on the links below:

Dr. Raju selected to receive the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award 2008 PDF
Dr. Raju – A ray of hope for affected children PDF
Dr. Raju – IMA Hyd Dec 2008 PDF

Scheffer C. G. Tseng, MD, PhD

Dr. Tseng, received his MD from National Taiwan University Medical School in 1978, and his PhD from University of California San Francisco in 1981. He completed the ophthalmology residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1984 and the cornea and external disease fellowship at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, in 1986. He then was as a Charlotte Breyer Rodgers chair professor at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute University of Miami School of Medicine until 2002, when he resigned to assume the position as medical director of the Ocular Surface Center and the Ocular Surface Research & Education Foundation. He served as the first President of International Ocular Surface Society from 2000 to 2004, ad hoc members of NIH study sections from 2002, and the editorial board of Ocular Surface Journal and Cornea Journal. He has given several named lecture such as Ulrich Ollendorff Lecture (1999), Marvin Henry MD Memorial Lecture (2003), Kersley Lecture (2004), Oliver H. Dabezies Jr. M.D. Lecture (2005), James E. McDonald, M.D. Keynote Lecture (2005), Susrata Lecture (2006), and 60 th Japanese Clinical Ophthalmology Congress Keynote Lecture (2006), and received several honors and awards such as Chancellor Award (2002), Senior Achievement Award (2004, and Secretariat Award (2005) from American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Tseng is specialized in ocular surface diseases and reconstruction using new surgical techniques of epithelial stem cell transplantation and amniotic membrane transplantation. He is also the R & D Director, leading a research team of 12 people in Bio-tissue/TissueTech, the leading tissue engineering company in Ophthalmology in the USA. His research focuses on epithelial stem cell biology and tissue engineering and has been supported by NIH, National Eye Institute for over 25 years. He combines his expertise in clinical services, education and research, and has produced more than 250 papers in the field of ocular surface disease and reconstruction, and has trained more than 50 international fellows specialized in ocular surface diseases. Besides ophthalmic research, Dr. Tseng served for five years as the Principle teaching Mandarin Chinese in a Chinese School. After work, Dr. Tseng enjoys reading, working out in the gym, traveling and different cuisines. He is adventurous and likes to take risks in exploring new ventures.

Billy K. Yeh, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Yeh is a veteran cardiologist and internist with extensive research experience. He is a graduate of National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Class of 1961, and earned a Ph.D. degree in the Faculty of Pure Science, Columbia University in the City of New York in 1967. His doctorate dissertation involved the study of the ionic basis of electrical activity in embryonic heart cells in tissue culture, using electrophysiology, histochemistry and electron microscopy techniques. His clinical training included a Residency and Fellowship in the Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals, Atlanta, GA. 1967-69.

Dr. Yeh is certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Nuclear Cardiology. He has authored and co-authored more than one hundred scientific publications, and is currently serving as Voluntary Professor of Medicine, University of Miami, School of Medicine.

Dr. Yeh and his family have lived in the Miami area since July 1, 1969. He has served as President of Ocular Surface Research and Education Foundation since its inception. He is the Founder of Yeh and Quesada, M.D.s, P.A., a prestigious cardiology office in South Florida.