Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu is a retina specialist and an associate professor of ophthalmology at Yale University and is at the forefront of health disparity research in ophthalmology. She is also an entrepreneur and is the founder of Eyeful, an ophthalmology related business she founded, and leads as the CEO. During the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in San Francisco last November, she hosted an Eyeful sponsored event called Ophthalmology Famous. I was fortunate to attend this event in ...

This episode of SFSE is the last in our series of rebroadcasted episodes on the history of AA in medicine and ophthalmology for Black history month and features my conversation with ophthalmologist, Dr. Clifton Peay. Dr Peay is an ophthalmologist practicing in Richmond Virginia specializing in glaucoma, refractive, cataract, laser, and anterior segment surgery. He has served on the Board of the National Medical Association’s ophthalmology section and as the Chair of the Roman Barnes Society o...

As we continue through black history month we are continuing our rebroadcast of the series of episodes addressing the history of the AA experience in medicine and ophthalmology that was first published last year. This first episode is of my conversation with Dr. Lenworth Johnson, a Neuro-ophthalmologist and the author of the book Breaking the Color Line in Medicine, African Americans in Ophthalmology. Breaking the Color Line in Medicine, African Americans in Ophthalmology

As we enter black history month we’ll be revisiting the series of podcasts addressing the history of AA in ophthalmology first published last year. We begin with the history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation in this country as they form the contextual foundation for the current state of medicine with its disparities in healthcare outcomes and lack of diversity, which extend into the field of ophthalmology. Included in this episode is additional, unpublished audio from my conversation with D...

The national medical association or NMA is a professional and scientific organization and the largest and oldest national organization representing the interests of African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA Ophthalmology Section has a long and storied history and to learn more about the current organization, I spoke with Drs. Fasika Woreta and Basil Williams, the immediate and future chairs of the section. They are passionate about and focused on movin...

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Stephen McLeod, the CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, addressing the importance of creating spaces where diversity can thrive, the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action and how it affects AAO, and what the academy is doing to support the cognitive specialties of ophthalmology, including my field of Neuro-ophthalmology.

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to bring important and hopefully thought provoking conversations through the sight for site eyes podcast highlighting the world of DEI in ophthalmology. I’ve also been able to highlight the unique field of Neuro-ophthalmology through the out of the Blindspot podcast. I’m particularly excited for the conversation that will be featured in the next couple of episodes in the first of its kind cross over event for the two podcasts I produce. That’s beca...

In the last episode we began a conversation with Drs. Janice Law, Jacquelyn O’Banion, and Ninita Brown about the work they are doing building bridges for HBCU medical students to gain experience in the field of ophthalmology.In this episode, we continue our conversation and learn more about how their unique backgrounds and experiences have shaped their perceptions of the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity space and how they see their programs evolving moving forward.Dr. Janice LawDr. Ninita Brow...

Historically black colleges and universities or HBCUs were born out of America’s history of systemic racism and segregation with the the law of separate but equal instituted at the turn of the 20th century. These institutions have played integral roles in the development and support of black professionals including physicians. Because HBCUs have and continue to produce more URiM physicians than all majority institutions combined, they can potentially play a pivotal role in addressing th...

In the last episode, we heard a cautionary tale from Dr. Vandana Reddy about a DEI related conflict within her organization that significantly impacted her professional life. We also learned from Dr. Lynn Gordon that these situations are not uncommon and that we need to be ready to address potential DEI-related conflict in our organizations and professional lives.In the next part of our conversation in we learn about the origins of Dr. Reddy’s interest in DEI, the lessons she’s learned from h...