Baruch Kuppermann, MD, PhD
The UCI Health Department of Ophthalmology has built a distinguished history of technology transfer to the ophthalmic community, and our world-class clinicians and scientists lead the relentless pursuit to protect and preserve sight.
Notable accomplishments from 2023 include:
- Clinical Excellence: Our institute boasts 27 clinical faculty members, including 11 on the Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors Award list and 13 selected as Orange County Physicians of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association.
- Patient Care Excellence: Our institute recorded over 75,000 outpatient visits and performed 4,200 surgical procedures, underlining our dedication to providing high-quality care to our community.
- Expansion of Services: We welcomed Kapil Mishra, MD, as Orange County’s first ocular oncologist.
- Recognition as a Center of Excellence: The Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration chose Gavin Herbert Eye Institute as their inaugural Center of Excellence for severe ocular disease under the leadership of Marjan Farid, MD.
- Integrated Care: Partnering with the UCI Health Neurology Department, we now offer integrated care for patients with optic neuritis and related neuroinflammatory conditions, providing comprehensive evaluation and treatment.
- National Recognition: Our research department, consisting of 15 full-time researchers, ranked in the top 20 in NIH ophthalmology funding for the fourth consecutive year, highlighting our institute's consistent contribution to groundbreaking research.
- Facilities Expansion: We expanded the number of operating rooms from two to four, and we currently have 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research labs for vision research under construction.
- Knowledge Sharing: Our Center for Translational Vision Research (CTVR) hosts weekly research seminars showcasing innovative research across the world in ophthalmology and related fields.
- Community Outreach: UCI Health Eye Mobile for Children provided 5,011 vision screenings, 589 dilated exams, and 295 pairs of glasses, all free of charge to children in underserved communities in Orange County.
- Individual Achievements: Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD, received the Presidential Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Orange County Eye project. Sumit (Sam) Garg MD currently serves as the Chief Medical Editor of ASCRS EyeWorld magazine.
Our faculty includes:
- 6 Cornea specialists
- 6 Retina specialists
- 4 Glaucoma specialists
- 4 Neuro-ophthalmology specialists
- 3 Pediatric specialists
- 2 Oculoplastic specialists
- 2 Uveitis specialists
- 1 Ocular Oncology specialist
- 1 Comprehensive specialist
- 1 Ocular Pathology specialist
- 15 Research faculty
2023 Highlights
Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration selects UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute as the first of five planned centers of excellence in severe ocular disease across the country.
The UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute is now the second medical institution in the nation and the only one on the West Coast to offer a rare vision-restoring treatment for this blinding condition.
Called ocular stem cell transplantation, the procedure involves removing scar tissue from the eye’s surface and grafting healthy donor cells from the limbus (the rim of the cornea). These limbal stem cells multiply, replacing the cornea’s tissue.
UCI Health cataract and cornea specialist Dr. Marjan Farid is one of handful of U.S. ophthalmologists able to perform this complex, sight-saving surgery. She trained with University of Cincinnati ophthalmologist Dr. Edward Holland, who devised the transplant procedure, which has restored vision for hundreds of people stricken with severe cornea damage.
Holland and his Foundation for Sight Restoration chose the Orange County eye institute to be the first of five planned U.S. centers of excellence offering this life-changing treatment. Farid, who leads the UCI Health Severe Ocular Surface Disease Program, explains the unique stem-cell transplant process.
UCI Gavin Herbert Eye Institute Center for Translational Vision Research awarded space in new Falling Leaves Foundation medical innovation building
At 215,000 square feet, the Falling Leaves Foundation medical innovation building is slated to be the largest interdisciplinary discovery and translational research hub on the West Coast. Scheduled to open in 2025, it is made possible by the extraordinary generosity of Adeline Mah, MD, and Robert Mah, PhD, through their Falling Leaves Foundation.
The Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building is an embodiment of our collaborative One Health alliance, bringing together talent from across Health Affairs and attracting new recruits from around the globe. It will empower our clinicians and scientists to cure blindness, unlock breakthrough cancer treatments, revolutionize the treatment of neurological disorders, and harness genetics, proteomics and cutting-edge technologies to treat rare diseases and prevent common illnesses. The Gavin Herbert Eye Institute Center for Translational Vision Research has been selected as one of the interdisciplinary research programs to occupy this building and continue our work to cure blindness. In addition, our exciting new program in Precision Genome Editing will also be joining the new space.
School of Medicine receives prestigious grant from Research to Prevent Blindness
The UCI School of Medicine received an unrestricted grant from the nonprofit Research to Prevent Blindness. The five-year, $575,000 award will support eye research by the Department of Ophthalmology. UCI is one of only 29 institutions nationwide to receive an RPB Unrestricted Grant. The award was based on a thorough review of criteria, including the department’s research activities, laboratory equipment and scientific staff, as evaluated by RPB’s renowned Scientific Advisory Panel.
Krzysztof Palczewski elected to prestigious National Academy of Sciences
Krzysztof Palczewski, PhD, founding director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute Center for Translational Vision Research, was elected a fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of many honors bestowed on this vision scientist whose contributions to the understanding of age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal degeneration are advancing the development of new treatments.
UC Irvine researchers discover a nanobody which may lead to treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa
A team of scientists from the University of California, Irvine, believe they have discovered a special antibody which may lead to a treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that causes loss of central vision, as well as night and color vision. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited eye diseases that affect the retina in the back of the eye. It is caused by the death of cells that detect light signals, known as photoreceptor cells. There is no known cure for RP, and the development of new treatments for this condition relies on cell and gene therapies.
UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute celebrates 10 year anniversary
This past year, the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute marked a decade of remarkable accomplishments in the field of ophthalmology. Founded with the support of philanthropist Gavin Herbert; a generous gift from his mother, Josephine Gleis; and major contributions by Jim and Kelly Mazzo, Julia and George Argyros, Esther and James Cavanaugh, Marsha and Bill Link, Richard P. Kratz, Geneva M. Matlock and others, this world-class medical facility has transformed the landscape of eye care in the region and beyond.
With three donor-funded surgical suites, 34 examination rooms, and a sprawling 1,500 square feet of conference and education space on the UCI campus, the eye institute opened its doors in September 2013 under the leadership of Dr. Roger F. Steinert, the Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology.
As the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary – with a history of expanding clinical programs, increased grant funding, major research breakthroughs and nearly double the number of people served in its first year – Dr. Baruch Kuppermann, Department Chairman, is understandably proud of its achievements. “In 10 years, the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute has become a shining light in vision research and patient care, providing hope and healing to the people of Orange County and beyond,” he says. “The future of vision care is brighter because of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute.”
On Oct. 17, 2023, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute with esteemed benefactors Gavin and Ninetta Herbert, as well as UC and UCI leaders President Michael V. Drake, Chancellor Howard Gillman, Provost Hal Stern, Vice Chancellor Steven Goldstein, Dean Michael Stamos and UCI Health CEO Chad Lefteris.