Liliana Werner

Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Co-Director, Intermountain Ocular Research Center, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, USA

What is an interesting or little-known fact about you?

I was born in Brazil, but am a citizen of three different countries (Brazil, Italy, and the United States) and therefore have three passports. I have so far lived in four different countries: Brazil, France, United States, and Germany.

Why did you decide to pursue ophthalmology/your subspecialty?

During medical school, I had to do a presentation on retinal findings related to hypertension and diabetes, and I became fascinated by the beauty of ophthalmoscopy examination, which led me to pursue ophthalmology. After finishing residency in ophthalmology and retina fellowship, I did a PhD in biomaterials in France, and my project involved evaluation of a lens coated with a transparent Teflon, which led me to be very interested in the long-term transparency and biocompatibility of intraocular lenses.

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

I believe that the desire for power adjustability after intraocular lens implantation in a non-invasive manner is driving great breakthroughs in this area. The light adjustable lens is already available in different markets, and technologies, such as refractive index shaping, which allow postoperative power adjustment of commercially available intraocular lenses by a femtosecond laser, are undergoing clinical trials.

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

I co-direct a laboratory that focuses on the investigation of intraocular lenses, which includes performance of pre-clinical studies and analyses of lenses explanted all around the world, among others. I would not have been able to function over the past 10 years without a light microscope, as all in vivo, pre-clinical studies we do involve histopathological analyses, and all explanted lenses sent to us are first evaluated under a light microscope before any further assessment.