Janet L. Davis

Leach Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

What’s been the biggest breakthrough in ophthalmology/your specific field over the last 10 years?

The biggest breakthrough in ophthalmology in my field in the last 10 years has been research targeting genetic eye disease. It is a breakthrough not only because it is a new application of science to medicine but also because there is tremendous potential to discover new ways to treat retinal disease.

Is there a particular tool, technological advance, or instrument you would not have been able to live without over the past 10 years?

Multi-gene testing panels for retinal gene variants have expanded diagnostic capabilities for retinal specialists.

Although interpretation of results can be difficult, this is immensely useful in understanding complex presentations of eye disease.

Do you have any strong opinions with which the rest of the field tends to disagree?

Many of my colleagues in uveitis feel that they can determine if birdshot chorioretinopathy is inactive without ICG angiography. They are wrong. Not monitoring with ICG can lead to undertreatment.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Norm Aiken. He is a local chef who sounds relatable on the radio and knows how to cook. We can talk about food during dinner, which is always entertaining. After the main course, I would like Virginia Woolf to discuss the recent film adaptations of her work and why famous actresses are narrating her books on Audible.com, emphasizing her modernism in a pre-feminist world. Finally, Norm Schatz, because I always try to sit at his table at any Bascom Palmer dinner. None of the three will have any idea why the others are there, but Dr. Schatz will be kind and lovely to everyone so we will all be comfortable.