Nadia K. Waheed

Professor in Ophthalmology, Tufts University School Of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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

I grew up in Islamabad, Pakistan, and went to college in Karachi. It was a magical place to grow up. There was so much forward thinking ambition – such a vibrant buzz – we grew up feeling like we could change the world. I think anyone who grew up there in those times lives with nostalgia and cannot let go. It was very special.

Why did you decide to pursue ophthalmology/your subspecialty? 

Ophthalmology has the unique blend of being bench to bedside at a very fast pace, both medical and surgical, and you can help patients immediately and see the effects. It is also amazing in the kind of people it attracts: innovative, out of the box thinkers. For me, the ability to see something in the lab and then use it to treat patients all in the course of a career... what an amazing opportunity!

Who is someone in ophthalmology/your subspecialty that you feel has been particularly influential over the past 10 years?

I would say Jim Fujimoto (his work on OCT has transformed how we look at patients) and Phil Rosenfeld, whose translation of those imaging modalities to understanding disease has evolved our understanding of eye disease.

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

The last 10 years – can I do longer?! As an imaging person, I would say it is the development of high resolution and high speed OCT and OCT angiography. We have learned so much from these technologies and every time we think we've hit a ceiling effect, something else comes along that transforms how we see and understand disease and health. OCT is like the gift that never stops giving. As far as newer technologies go, I am really excited about what machine learning and also gene therapy will teach us. Boom or bust, what we will learn about our genes and how they work from the gene therapy trials currently undergoing will help us advance human knowledge. Also, how cool is it to take a little virus and reprogram it to do something useful and potentially cure disease? I am always awe stricken by the potential of what nature has available for us to repurpose.

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

Professionally, OCT. And personally, my phone – it helps me connect to my family wherever I am.