News

Two leading causes of blindness — cataract and glaucoma — are often foremost in the minds of elderly adults watching for signs of degenerative eye disease. Lost in the messaging to many aging adults, however, is awareness that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss and...

Every January, UNC Ophthalmology welcomes a new, fantastic group of applicants who have matched to our residency program. Our newest matched MS4s represent excellence and a clear desire to master medical and surgical eye care and join our current trainees as next-generation, top-performing ophthalmologists!!

UNC Ophthalmology is thrilled to recognize Associate Professor and Residency Program Director Alice Zhang, MD, and Assistant Professor Kathy Whitfield, MD, for being named to the 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors list!

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

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...