Improving Eye Health, Improving Lives
Growing up, UNC School of Medicine MS4 (Class of 2026) Mary Kaufmann observed the tertiary care responses her father, a UNC-trained ophthalmologist, used to treat complex ocular conditions in Rowan County, NC, a small-town community.
Within her family, Mary also watched her now 98-year-old grandmother experience a diminished quality of life due to gradual loss of vision as she advanced toward late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
“Witnessing the irreversible toll of progressive eye disease in aging patients like my grandmother and gaining a sense of the current therapeutic limits in treating advanced disease ultimately influenced me to pursue ophthalmology,” Kaufmann said. “I want a career focused on caring for older adults, and as I explored the range of specialties, I found that ophthalmology would combine my interests in surgery, research, and technology to treat complex eye conditions that largely affect this patient population.”
As a UNC School of Medicine (SOM) MS1, Mary and other early-stage Translational Education at Carolina (TEC) learners took specialized courses and participated in programs that introduced them to a range of clinical topics and disciplines. For exposure to the care of older adults, Mary joined the Care of the Older Patient Scholarly Concentration Program through the SOM’s Center for Aging and Health during her first year. This longitudinal program allows medical students to participate in specific rotations and elective courses to learn how to best care for older adults, regardless of the specialty they ultimately pursue.
Mary was selected to participate in the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-sponsored Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program – a UNC SOM initiative that connects medical student mentees with UNC faculty investigators for exposure to aging-related research – the summer after her first year. Through this program, she was introduced to UNC Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Zongchao Han, MD, PhD, an expert in developing drug delivery technology to treat retinal diseases.
The MSTAR program was designed to support short-term learning experiences for medical students. Watching her absorb instruction on study design, laboratory science fundamentals, and manuscript development, however, Dr. Han invited Mary to continue working part-time with his lab team during the school year, beyond her MSTAR commitment.
“Mary is an exceptional student scholar and lab assistant who developed a way of thinking and understanding disease mechanisms from learning techniques and materials used in my lab,” Dr. Han said. “She’s exemplary of the success we hope all medical student mentees [at the Carolina Eye Research Institute] will have via participating in hands-on basic science experimentation to understand how it translates to the medical practice they’re learning.”
Prior to medical school, Mary was introduced to how translational research informs medicine while participating in a Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine summer program. In the Han Lab, she has contributed to basic science studies focused on developing novel biomedical nanoparticle delivery systems to treat retinal diseases like AMD. Mary has been a first-author and co-author on Han Lab manuscripts, and her presentations of studies at local, regional, and national conferences have earned her such honors as Top Poster at the Annual Student Research Day at UNC’s John B. Graham Medical Student Research Society and Top Poster at the Association of Women Surgeons Conference (both in 2023). She also was awarded two Top Presentation awards at the national American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting in 2024.
Mary and fellow Class of 2026 classmates are months away from entering residency programs that will train them to become competent, next-generation physicians. The UNC Ophthalmology elective rotations she takes offer hands-on opportunities in direct medical and procedural treatment of complex conditions she understands better because of her experiences in the Han Lab.
“I credit Dr. Han’s lab for teaching me to understand how basic science research leads to the development of novel therapeutic solutions that support improved patient care,” she said. “I have been fortunate to work with a lab team focused on advancing novel research-informed treatment of [AMD] and other degenerative conditions affecting this patient population. Ophthalmology perfectly combines my interests in research and the care of older adults. I’m very excited to pursue this specialty for residency, and I want to make translational research a part of my practice while I am in academia.”