Focus areas of the department include:

  • Oculoplastics - Eyelid, Orbital, Tear duct diseases
  • General ophthalmology - Cataract and Glaucoma
  • Medical Retina
    • Adults:
      • Diabetes
      • Macular diseases
      • Retinitis pigmentosa
    • Neonatal:
      • Retinopathy of Prematurity

Employee research initiatives include:
Rosa Braga Mele

  • 2007: Analyzing whether intracameral Lidocaine one per cent injections decrease need for systemic midazolam and fentanyl requirements in cataract surgery

Reviewing more than 50 cases of two different surgeons and matching surgical times, one who uses intracameral lidocaine and others who does not. She is also looking at anaesthetic needs.

  • 2007: Evaluation of Kids2See vision screening project in public schools

To evaluate the process and outcome of the vision screening process in a community affairs initiative of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

  • 2007: Analyzing data on Pars Plana vitrectomy pre-phaco in Nanophthalmic eyes looking at ease of case and outcomes: Technique paper

Eugene Liu

  • Examination of pH of various intraocular solutions, 2007 (co-principal investigator with Dr. Nupura Krishnadev and Dr. Joel Shugar)
  • Microbiology trends in orbital cellulitis, 2002-present (co-principal investigator with Dr. Ray Buncic and Dr. Feisal Adatia and Ms. Tran Le)

Mike Easterbrook

  • Assessment of anti-malarial retinopathy visual fields. The red is always worse in these patients.  We don’t know if this is a function of decreased illumination or wavelength. Working with Feisal Adatia and John Flanagan.
  • Multi-focal ERG study at SickKids with lupus patients not on anti-malarials and lupus patients on anti malarial.
  • Blood pressure readings during cataract surgery with automated blood pressure reading.

Ed Margolin

  • NAION produces an ischemic insult in the optic nerve head. This leads to the release of vascular growth factors and swelling of the affected area of the nerve and subsequently to the ischemia of the adjacent unaffected part of the nerve. This leads to the cascade of swelling of the previously unaffected areas of the nerve and its infarction.  Bevacizumab is a known anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) agent. It is our hypothesis that by injecting bevacizumab intra-vitreally, we will be able to decrease the output of the VEGF which will then decrease the swelling of the optic nerve and prevent the damage to its unaffected parts.

We will enroll subjects who have had NAION in one eye with residual visual acuity of 20/100 or less at least six months after the event and who present with the involvement of the second eye with the visual acuity of 20/100 or worse.  Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) will be done in the affected eye through pars plana approach. Visual acuity will be measured using ETDRS charts at one week, one month, and six months after the injection.      

 Jeff Hurwitz

  • The morphology of lacrimal stones.
  • Wait times for oculoplastic oncology.

Charles Pavlin

  • Ultrasound Biomicroscopy vs. anterior segment OCT in assessment of anterior segment tumors
  • Assessment of the zonule in pseudo exfoliation
  • Complications of one-piece acrylic lenses

 George Beiko

  • Targeting of Spherical Aberration Correction in Cataract Surgery, Comparison of 0.00 microns against 0.10 microns.
  • AMO Tecnis Multifocal Acrylic IOL ZMA00 - Initial Experience.
  • Visiogen Synchrony Accommodating IOL in ARMD.
  • Measurement of Corneal Spherical Aberration; Comparison of the Easygraph and Pentacam.
  • Staged Implantation of Refractive IOLs: Optimizing Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes.
  • Patients with ReZoom or Tecnis IOLs; Comparison of Quality of Vision.
  • Near Visual Acuity in Patients with Bilateral Implantation of the SynchronyDual Optic IOL.