We hope you will enjoy this video presentation about what makes our residency and post-resident fellowship programs great! You can learn much more about these teaching programs and how to apply by going to our residency home page and our fellowships home page.
The UCSF Medical Center has been recognized in the 2020-21 Best Hospitals Honor Roll! For the fifth year in a row, UCSF’s Department of Ophthalmology has been named one of the Top 10 eye institutions in the nation AND the Best in Northern California by U.S. News & World Report!
To help support the important research, medical education, and patient care provided by the Department of Ophthalmology and the Francis I. Proctor Foundation, please click here.
In celebration of the initiative “2020: Year of the Eye” the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) featured stories of ophthalmologists who give above and beyond to our community. We were very proud to have our own Dr. de Alba included! Please view the video about Dr. De Alba from the AAO, or click here to view their full article about her efforts as an unsung hero helping to improve vision and vision care for the underserved community.
At press time, UCSF vision scientists had already launched 18 research projects to address aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few highlights.
Travis Porco, PhD, MPH; Lee Worden, PhD; Seth Blumberg, MD; and Rae Wannier, BS; of the Proctor Foundation are analyzing mathematical models to guide public health policy, in coordination with the San Francisco Department of Health. The team’s analysis focuses on real-time assessment of current control measures, as well as analysis of contact investigation, mask usage, and social distancing.
Luca Della Santina, PhD, and Michael Deiner, PhD, lead a team of clinicians and computer scientists to develop “deep learning” methods that can identify conditions that affect the surface of the eye (external disorders) from selfie images taken by patients (or their families or caregivers) at home. This tool has strong potential to support telemedicine for vision care during and after the pandemic. Collaborators include Seanna Grob, MD; Julius Oatts, MD; Gerami Seitzman, MD; Tom Lietman, MD; and M. Reza Vagefi, MD.
Yvonne Ou, MD, and Michael Deiner, PhD, are studying whether a novel mobile visual field test for glaucoma patients can provide an effective at-home alternative to conventional in-clinic testing during the pandemic. Co-developed with Vivid Vision, Inc., the test uses inexpensive virtual reality headsets and oculokinetic perimetry methods pioneered by Bertil Damato, MD, PhD, FRCOphth. Dr. Ou can quickly evaluate the results of tests that her patients perform in their homes.
Julie Schallhorn, MD, and Gerami Seitzman, MD, lead two investigations to determine the presence and prevalence of aerosolized SARS-CoV2 viral particles emitted when patients speak (or sing!). One focuses on people at a testing site and the other on patients convalescing at home. The team also includes Thuy Doan, MD, PhD, who performs the genetic diagnostic testing, and Miel Sundararajan, MD. Findings will inform future safety guidelines.
UCSF East Bay Vision Clinic
Providing vision care in comprehensive ophthalmology, glaucoma, retina, oculoplastics, and optometry. Call 415.353.2800 to discuss moving your vision care.
Research support is provided by the National Institutes of Health, Research to Prevent Blindness, and That Man May See.
To protect eye patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, UCSF Ophthalmology has implemented stringent safety measures. Innovative solutions are taking shape as clinical teams maximize precautions.
UCSF vision clinics have reopened for nonurgent patient care needs after adopting new policies and practices to protect both patients and practitioners.
“UCSF Ophthalmology is honored to be a trusted health partner during this crisis,” says M. Reza Vagefi, MD, medical director for the Department of Ophthalmology. “Our teams are making every effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure that patients continue to receive the very best vision care.”
All UCSF vision clinics at the Department of Ophthalmology and Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology follow the safety guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many new protocols are in place to reduce the risks of viral transmission. Patients can expect prescreening and rescreening for COVID-19, shorter appointments and waiting times, limits on nonessential visitors, and requirements for masks.
Protective plexiglass shields have been installed on every slit-lamp microscope, creating a physical barrier during face-to-face eye exams. UCSF’s Matthew Russell, MD, and his father-in-law, Lorne Dubin, kindly fabricated, installed, and donated the innovative shields.
The premises and all instruments undergo disinfection or sterilization each morning, between patients, and at night. All exam room surfaces, including chairs, chin rests, and door handles, are cleaned and disinfected.
UCSF glaucoma specialists are minimizing contact with drive-through tests to monitor eye pressure, also called intraocular pressure. The brief procedure involves gently touching a disposable, single-use tonometer tip to the surface of the eye while the patient remains inside his or her vehicle.
Telehealth refers to medical triage, diagnosis, and care provided remotely. Pioneered for those living far from medical help, this touchless method reduces transmission risks. Clinicians now meet with patients via video, email, and phone to adjust medication, consult on upcoming surgeries, examine the external eye, and check vision. Brief clinical tests are paired with remote appointments to review test results and go over treatment plans.
Underfunded health clinics, lack of running water, and other public health deficits leave millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa vulnerable to COVID-19. In response, the Proctor Foundation is leveraging two clinical trials underway in Burkina Faso to look for early signs of COVID-19 outbreaks. Led by Catie Oldenburg, MPH, ScD, the trials examine the impact of azithromycin on child mortality and involve 50,000 infants and young children.
Health workers are now tracking COVID-19 symptoms and influenza-like illnesses in participating clinics. This “syndromic surveillance” method was used to detect an increase in influenza-like illness in New York prior to the first major rise in COVID-19 cases, at a time when the number of lab-confirmed flu cases was declining. With this “early warning system,” the Proctor Foundation aims to empower local governments and health organizations to respond as quickly as possible to stem the spread of the virus.
Premier research teams worldwide are racing to halt the devastation of this novel coronavirus. The Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology quickly joined the fight, using its 20 years of experience with the antibiotic azithromycin to search for solutions.
Two decades ago, That Man May See helped to launch the Proctor Foundation’s research to eliminate the blinding disease trachoma in Ethiopia. The seed-funded pilot study examined the impact of azithromycin on infants and young children. Findings proved that the antibiotic drastically reduced prevalence of the eye disease and saved children’s lives.
Now, Catie Oldenburg, ScD, MPH, and Thuy Doan, MD, PhD, lead a clinical trial for COVID-19. They have leveraged Proctor Foundation’s deep azithromycin expertise to swiftly initiate a well-designed, nationwide, randomized clinical trial, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Planning for such rigorous studies often takes months and even years, but the team is already enrolling patients, following a markedly compressed planning period.
The clinical trial is called Azithromycin for COVID-19 Treatment in Outpatients Nationwide (ACTION). The research team, which also includes Ben Arnold, PhD; Travis Porco, PhD; and Tom Lietman, MD; hopes to recruit at least 2,300 patients by the end of the year.
The trial will help researchers understand the potential effect of a single dose of the antibiotic in halting progression of COVID-19 in patients who are not hospitalized. Azithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat many common bacterial infections, and it may have antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
The Proctor team collaborates with the Stanford Clinical Virology Lab to recruit newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients. This lab has been performing a high volume of California tests for the virus, known as SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 patients nationwide are encouraged to participate, and more virology labs will be recruited as well.
Each participating patient will be sent a single dose of the azithromycin or a look-alike placebo. Because the study is conducted completely via mail and email, patients with proof of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test can enroll from anywhere in the United States within seven days of their positive test result. Participants will then complete five short online questionnaires over the subsequent three weeks. In addition, Dr. Doan and her lab team will analyze biosamples taken at home by interested participants. Their analysis will provide insight into the precise effects of the azithromycin.
In the face of this pandemic, the Proctor team is experiencing synergy like never before.
“There’s a level of cooperation across disciplines that was unusual before,” says Dr. Oldenburg. “I feel that the way researchers are working together during the pandemic is going to change how we do science forever.”
Evidence generated by the ACTION trial will serve as a blueprint for future trials. “We don’t think this is the last coronavirus epidemic that we’re going to see,” says Dr. Oldenburg. “What we learn now will allow us to jumpstart effective research practices during future epidemics.”
Dr. Oldenburg stresses the importance of patients stepping forward to participate in gold-standard clinical trials like this one. “To understand and properly evaluate drug treatments,” she says, “the best thing we can do is to conduct and volunteer to take part in randomized controlled trials.”
Join the Trial
If you or someone you know tests positive for COVID-19, please consider enrolling in the ACTION study within three days of diagnosis. Learn more: Website: proctor.ucsf.edu/action-trial
Email: Actiontrial@ucsf.edu
Phone: 415.326.3761
