News

UNC School of Medicine 4th-year student (MS4) Mary Kaufmann, a May 2026 graduate, was inspired by her family to pursue ophthalmology.

Mark your calendars UNC Ophthalmology for the 2026 UNC Eye Symposium on Saturday, April 25th, 2026, at the William & Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education! This annual conference updates Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Ophthalmic Technicians, and Photographers on the latest evidence-based diagnostic and medical/surgical approaches to comprehensive eye care and treating...

UNC Department of Ophthalmology is excited to share with you Winter 2025 issue of UNC EYE magazine, our patient-focused publication that demonstrates our excellence in patient care, education, research and other areas.

An adult who faithfully visits his PCP for well-check exams shows no signs of mid-life worsening vision and falls short of scheduling a first-time comprehensive eye exam in his 40s. At age 50, he is diagnosed with glaucoma at an overdue screening, 10 years past the recommended age for first-time...

It’s December and the holiday season has arrived. When year-end merry-making leads adults and youth to engage in careless behavior, the risk of eye injury increases considerably. In a month loaded with gift-giving and celebratory occasions, individuals are at risk of ocular trauma in the path of high-speed, shooting projectiles,...

In an early November 2025 Physicians Weekly Q&A, Sterling A. Barrett Distinguished Associate Professor of Ophthalmology David Fleischman, MD, MS, FACS, recapped a retrospective cohort study in which his faculty-mentored team analyzed the correlation between geriatric ocular trauma and risk of mortality.

UNC Department of Ophthalmology announces a transition in Chair, effective November 1, 2025.

UNC Ophthalmology proudly congratulates Professor Mohammad Soleimani, MD, FICO, Vice Chair of Quality and Cornea Fellowship Program Director, on being awarded the prestigious title of “Member with Thesis” in November 2024 by the esteemed Cornea Society. 

UNC Ophthalmology is pleased to recognize Associate Professor and Residency Program Director Alice Zhang, MD, as the Choroideremia Research Foundation’s 6th Annual Randy Wheelock Research Award recipient. The yearly Wheelock Research Award honors exceptional emerging clinical and basic ophthalmic researchers who are initiating or furthering their investigative focus on choroideremia...

At several national eye physician/surgeon conferences this fall, the scholarly works and career achievements of UNC Ophthalmology faculty and residents have been in the spotlight. Among them: American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2025 UNC Ophthalmology Chair Don Budenz, MD, MPH, gave the Robert N. Shaffer Lecture: “Glaucoma at the Center...

Every October, World Blindness Awareness Month brings attention to the blind and visually impaired community and the realities of living without sight. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “everyone, if they live long enough, will experience at least one eye disease or disorder in their lifetime.” Despite this reality,...

UNC Department of Ophthalmology is excited to expand its comprehensive and subspecialty eye care services within central North Carolina with the opening of  UNC Health Eye Care at Cary on Tuesday, September 2nd.