Hajirah Saeed, MD is an associate professor of ophthalmology at University of Illinois Chicago with part-time appointments at Harvard Medical School and Loyola University Medical Center. After completing her cornea fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, she stayed on as faculty for 5 years where she was program director of the cornea fellowship, director of the pediatric cornea service, and associate director of the ocular surface imaging center, before joining the University of Illinois last year.

Her lab conducts research on the characterization and management of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, with a focus on genetic epidemiology and risk factors. She is an international expert on SJS/TEN and has standardized treatment for ocular disease in SJS/TEN. Dr. Saeed is also PI and a collaborator on several NIH-funded programs to study genetic risk factors in the development of SJS/TEN with and without ocular disease. Her clinical practice is focused on providing expert care for adult and pediatric patients with severe ocular surface disease. Her other clinical and research interests include pediatric corneal disease, including keratoconus, imaging of the ocular surface, public health and eye banking in the developing world.

Heather Machin, RN, MBA, PhD is an ophthalmic nurse with dual responsibilities across ophthalmic nursing and eye banking. She has led the development of national and global bioethical tissue frameworks including the development of The Barcelona Principles. She has published widely and received numerous awards and nominations.

Dr. Machin has worked in over 30 countries, previously with Orbis Flying Eye Hospital and currently as a consultant to the Fred Hollows Foundation NZ working in the Pacific Islands. She currently serves in the following capacities:

• Senior project manager, Biobank PI and Lions Fellow to the Centre for Eye Research Australia (a WHO Collaborating Centre for the Prevention of Blindness) at the University of Melbourne
• Project officer to the Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand
• Chair to the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations
• Representative to the Lions Clubs International Eye Bank Working Group
• Member of the Australian Organ and Tissue Authorities Eye and Tissue Advisory Committee
• Participant in the development of the WHO’s Global Action Framework for Tissue in Transplantation

Dr. Machin has particular interests in improving donor awareness, the global needs of those awaiting a transplant, the sharing of tissue, the allocation of tissue towards research and training and the role of nurses in eye care.

Mark S. Milner, M.D. is a board-certified ophthalmologist nationally and internationally recognized for his expertise in corneal surgery and dry eye management. Dr. Milner is an Associate Clinical Professor at Yale School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology. He has been a principal investigator for several studies for FDA approval and has authored various publications, including a 44 page peer reviewed article in Current Opinion in Ophthalmology (January 2017) detailing his innovative algorithm and approach to the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disease. He has been interviewed by several magazines, newspaper, radio and television shows about his refractive and corneal expertise. He was also the only ophthalmologist between New York and Boston to perform the IMT (Implantable Miniature Telescope) surgery for patients with advanced macular degeneration and blindness.

Dr. Milner specializes in cornea, external diseases, refractive surgery and uveitis, with a focused interest in dry eye disease and dysfunctional tear syndrome. He has lectured throughout the world teaching other physicians about dry eye and his innovative approach, algorithm and treatments. He has also been recognized by Ocular Surgery News as one of the top 300 innovative ophthalmologists in the country.

In 2022, Dr. Milner was ranked the #144 best ophthalmologist out of nearly 25,000 in the United States by Newsweek magazine.

Uri S. Soiberman, M.D., is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute. Dr. Soiberman specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of corneal and anterior segment diseases, including corneal transplants, cataract surgery and intraocular lens complications. He is particularly interested in keratoconus and novel treatments for this disease; this disease is Dr. Soiberman's primary research focus. He is also actively studying the application of nanomedicine in the field of cornea.

Dr. Soiberman received his medical degree from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Tel Aviv Medical Center, and his research and clinical fellowships in the field of cornea, cataract and external disease at the Wilmer Eye Institute.

Daniel Montenegro, MD is a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in the medical and surgical management of cataract as well as corneal and external diseases. Dr. Montenegro grew up in Venezuela and is fluent in both Spanish and English. He completed his college education at Barry University in Miami, FL and went on to complete 3 years of research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He completed his medical education and graduated with summa cum laude honors at the Universidad Central del Caribe in Puerto Rico. He was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society for his academic achievements.

After medical school, he completed his ophthalmology training at the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, MI. He then went on to pursue a cornea and external diseases fellowship at the Dean McGee Eye Institute in Oklahoma City, OK.

Before joining Eye Centers of South Florida, he was a faculty member at the Kresge Eye Institute and the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center. He served as a mentor for future generations of ophthalmologists and provided care for our country’s Veterans. He directed a busy cornea service providing medical and surgical care for corneal diseases including corneal dystrophies, corneal ectasias (i.e. keratoconus), corneal ulcers, corneal scars, ocular surface tumors and dry eyes.
Dr. Montenegro performs full-thickness, partial thickness, and endothelial keratoplasty corneal transplants. He also has a strong interest in cataract refractive surgery and evolving intraocular lens implant technologies.

Dr. Montenegro chose ophthalmology as his profession because he embraces the complexity of the eye and its relationship with your health. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

During his free time, Dr. Montenegro enjoys reading books, exercising and spending time with his wife Ana Carolina and two children, Daniel and Clara.

Kamran Riaz, MD, is a clinical associate professor at the Dean McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma. His clinical and surgical practices focus on cornea, external disease, anterior segment, cataract and refractive surgery.

Dr. Riaz’s career in academic ophthalmology began at the University of Chicago where he restarted the refractive surgery service, inaugurated a region-wide optics course and brought many new surgical procedures to the department, including femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, “dropless cataract surgery,” micro-invasive glaucoma surgery and advanced technology IOL surgery.

Dr. Riaz has a regional referral base at Dean McGee Eye Institute for managing a spectrum of conditions, particularly focusing on managing complications from cataract surgery, secondary IOL surgery and complex corneal surgery. He has authored more than 45 publications and 60 presentations at national and international ophthalmology meetings, been an invited lecturer and surgical wet-lab instructor at several conferences, as well as an invited visiting professor, both nationally and internationally, at multiple academic institutions. Dr. Riaz holds several leadership positions, including serving on the ASCRS Young Eye Surgeon (YES) Clinical Committee.

Dr. Riaz has a passion for resident and fellow education, especially in optics and refractive surgery. He teaches national board review courses, serves as an optics section editor for the most popular website for ophthalmology exam preparation among trainees, and is on the editorial committee for the BCSC Optics textbook. He is the Chief Editor for a forthcoming Optics textbook, Optics for the New Millennium.

He and his wife, Sanaa, also a physician, are blessed with three amazing children.

Ahmed Omar, MD, PhD, joined the cornea service at University Hospitals Eye Institute in Cleveland in May 2019. He is a graduate of Assiut Medical School, completed his internship and ophthalmology residency at Assiut University Hospitals in Egypt, and joined their faculty in 2008.

On scholarship from the Egyptian government, Dr. Omar joined Mayo Clinic in 2011 to conduct his PhD research and then a medical retina fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He completed a cornea, refractive and external disease fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2016 and moved back to Egypt to share his cornea knowledge and experience with his patients and colleagues.

In 2017, Dr. Omar helped establish an Egyptian government-sponsored program to provide corneal transplants for underprivileged Egyptians at Assiut University Hospitals. He taught many of his colleagues to do corneal transplants individually so they can continue to provide the same level of care when he returned to the United States in 2019.