Carter to transition from leadership role, search begins for next chair of Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Dr. Zachary Richards, a third-year ophthalmology resident with a background in engineering, has been named a 2025–2026 Iowa Innovation Leadership Fellow. Combining his surgical training with his passion for invention, Richards is developing low-cost tools like a 3-D surgical recording system and aims to learn how to bring medical technologies from prototype to patient care. Through the fellowship, he hopes to strengthen his leadership and business skills to become a “surgeon-inventor” who advances both clinical practice and innovation in eye care.

Find out where UI faculty members will be participating in AAO 2025

Eye Culture: Art, Ophthalmology, and Neuroscience brought together students, faculty, and artists to explore how vision connects medicine, neuroscience, and creative expression. Organizer Sophia Chen emphasized that our anatomy shapes how we see and interpret the world, making art and perception inseparable.

Dr. Mark Greiner of the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology has been named the 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Mentorship in Basic Research Award, nominated by his mentee, Lauren Berry.

The University of Iowa's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences hosted a special evening to honor three faculty members receiving distinguished professorships and a newly established endowed chair. Dr. Elliott Sohn was named the inaugural Diabetic Retinopathy Research Chair, while Dr. Ian Han and Dr. Pavlina Kemp were appointed to professorships recognizing excellence in vitreoretinal surgery and ophthalmology education, respectively. The event celebrated both the honorees and the donors whose support strengthens the department’s leadership in research, clinical care, and education.