Iqbal "Ike" K. Ahmed

John R. and Hazel M. Robertson Presidential Endowed Chair and Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, USA; Research Director, Kensington Eye Institute, University of Toronto, Canada; Chief Innovation Officer, Prism Eye Institute, Oakville, ON, Canada

What industry trends are catching your attention right now?

The race to incorporate AI and digital technology into healthcare solutions.  This will dramatically change access, workflow, and efficiency in our workplace but also require further investment and prioritization in current environments.

What is a little-known fact about you?

Although I run a fast-paced life, I am a hugely sentimental person who cherishes every interaction, every experience, and every opportunity that comes my way. I guess I look at the world in a romanticized way – an idealized view of society, where there are deeper meanings to our journey. Emotion, connections, and spirituality guide my travel through life.

Make a bold prediction for the future of ophthalmology.

In glaucoma, we will move into an intervention approach where procedural elements form the basis of therapy, and traditional eye drops become bridges to more definitive management. Lasers, drug/molecular delivery, and surgery to not only lower IOP, but protect cells and eventually regenerate tissue will become mainstays in glaucoma treatment.

If you weren’t an ophthalmologist, what would you be doing instead?

I think I would be a mountain climber, striving to summit the highest peaks of the world. I need challenges to keep me going, channeling my adrenaline into positive action. The bigger the risk, the greater the reward.