Operation Restore Vision
Members
Alexander Barash, M.D.
Dr. Alexander Barash is a New York Eye and Ear trained vitreoretinal surgeon. He was born in Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, NY. His father is an electrical engineer, and his mother was a computer programmer for the financial industry in New York.
Dr. Barash completed Cornell University Magna Cum Laude with a distinction in research and went on to medical school at Mount Sinai in New York City. At Mount Sinai, he was awarded a prestigious year-long Doris Duke clinical research fellowship during which he studied corneal stem cells’ ability to cure blindness. He went on to study Ophthalmology in Stony Brook, Long Island, before his vitreoretinal fellowship at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Dr. Barash has been on six surgical missions to Mongolia and has also traveled to Peru, where he was director of eye clinic services for a surgical mission. In medical school, he was the clinic manager for a student-run eye clinic providing free eye care to residents of East Harlem. He also enjoys research and has been published in numerous medical journals and book chapters. He has given presentations at medical meetings around the USA and won several awards for these presentations. He is fluent in Russian and English, and proficient in Spanish and Italian.
Seth W. Meskin, M.D. F.A.A.O
Dr. Meskin is a board certified, fellowship trained specialist in corneal and cataract surgery. He is in private practice with Eye Physicians & Surgeons, PC in Milford, CT and serves as a clinical instructor at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, where he teaches resident doctors about cataract and corneal diseases and surgery.
Dr. Meskin has served as the Treasurer of Connecticut State Society of Eye Physicians and is currently a Board member of the Executive Committee of the same society. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Dr. Meskin has been an invited lecturer at scholarly meetings throughout the US and has published extensively in the topic of eye diseases. He has served as an investigator for multiple FDA studies for new technologies or surgical devices in ophthalmology. Dr. Meskin received many awards including the Yale Excellence in Resident Teaching Award 2011.
Gaurang J. Trivedi, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.O
Dr. Trivedi is the Director of Glaucoma at CareMount Medical Group. He is a board certified, fellowship trained specialist in glaucoma and cataract surgery. He attended the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Trivedi then trained at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary for both his ophthalmology residency and his glaucoma fellowship.
He is a Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, as well as New York Medical College, in Valhalla, NY.
Dr. Trivedi has received several awards during his career. He was selected by his peers as a Top Doctor by Westchester Magazine almost every year since 2015, and Top Doctor by New York Magazine since 2017.
Dr. Trivedi is passionately involved in several volunteer organizations and charities in addition to Operation Restore Vision. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Yorktown, NY, which breeds and trains exceptional guide dogs for visually impaired individuals. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Ambulatory Surgery of Center of Westchester, Mount Kisco, NY, a recognized center of excellence in outpatient surgical care performing nearly 5,000 cases annually.
Dr. Sushant Chafekar, Ophthalmologist
Dr. Sushant Chafekar is an Ophthalmic surgeon with an experience of 25 years in the field. He has a practice in Gadag, India. He completed his Medical school in Ambedkar Institute of medicine sciences in 1987followed by his D.O from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical college, Belgaum in 1993. He specializes in small incision cataract surgery.
He has worked with the Indian Medical Association and the District blindness control society of Govt of Karnataka to carry out abou 150 eye care and eye surgery camps between 1995-2005. These camps were focused mainly on the rural and underserved parts of the state.
In 2010 he presented a paper titled DCR made easy by unconventional tools which were adjudged as the best paper in the state ophthalmic conference, the same paper has also been presented in the All India ophthalmic conference in 2011
Currently practicing as an Ophthalmic Surgeon in Gadag, India
Natalie Nguyen, OD FAAO
Dr. Natalie Nguyen is an optometrist at Omni Eye Services of New Jersey specializing in ocular disease. She graduated from SUNY College of Optometry in 2017 where she now serves as adjunct clinical professor. She also serves as internship co-director overseeing fourth year optometry students at Omni. She received her fellowship from the American Academy of Optometry in 2018. Dr. Nguyen is currently a member of the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians and the American Academy of Optometry.
PREVIOUS Team MEMBERS
John Mitchell Aljian, MD
Chief of the Eye Trauma Service at The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, a fellowship-trained, board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in cataract/new technology intraocular lens surgery, cornea transplantation, ocular trauma, and laser surgery. Dr. Aljian is a medical educator and instructs resident physicians in cataract, corneal, eye trauma, and laser surgery, and has received numerous awards for his surgical teaching. Dr. Aljian is a Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York City. Dr. Aljian serves on the board of the New York Society for Clinical Ophthalmology, is an active fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
Nelson Ventura Co, CRNA
Nelson Ventura Co, CRNA is a Certified Nurse Anesthetist with two decades of expertise administering anesthetics to children and adults undergoing ophthalmic, otolaryngology, and head and neck surgery. His vast experience over of decades and proficiency has earned him the reputation as one of the top Nurse Anesthetists in New York City, where he is employed at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. His advanced skills and technical expertise are sought after by anesthesiologists and top surgeons. He has extensive experience abroad providing anesthesia for medical missions.
Julissa Cruz, MD
Julissa Cruz, M.D. is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicinein New York City, and also holds a BS in Biochemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She performed rigorous post-graduate training in anesthesia at Montefiore Medical Center and works at Queens Medical center. Dr. Cruz is a board-certified anesthesiologist who works with a broad spectrum of adults and children, ranging from the complex general anesthesia to Monitored Anesthesia Care with sedation. She has expertise in managing ASA I-VI patients for both ambulatory and inpatient surgery for thoracic, urological, ENT, and general surgery procedures as well as extensive experience with pediatric surgery. Dr. Cruz also has considerable international experience providing anesthesia for medical missions.
Sanjay R. Kedhar, MD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine and Director of the Ocular Immunology Service at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute. He previously served on the faculty of the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital and The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. Dr. Kedhar received his medical degree from New York Medical College. He completed his ophthalmology residency at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and fellowships in cornea, anterior segment disease, refractive surgery and ocular immunology/uveitis at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Kedhar specializes in the medical and surgical management of patients with uveitis and ocular inflammatory diseases as well as complex cornea and anterior segment disease. Dr. Kedhar performs corneal transplants, cataract and pharmacological implant surgeries in these patients and participates in numerous research projects on the efficacy of these disease treatments. He has authored over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, numerous textbook chapters and is a frequently invited lecturer nationally and internationally.
Joseph Panarelli, MD
Joseph Panarelli, MD is Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was recruited from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at Miami School of Medicine in 2013. Dr. Panarelli received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and fellowship in glaucoma at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Panarelli specializes in the medical and surgical management of patients with glaucoma. Dr. Panarelli also performs cataract and glaucoma drainage implant surgeries. He participates in numerous research projects on the efficacy of glaucoma treatments.
Chris Quaglio
Chris has worked as an Advanced Retinal Imaging Specialist at The Bendheim Family Retina Center at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, specializing in Spectral Ocular Tomography and Ocular Ultrasonography where he and his team performed an average of 500 diagnostic exams per week. The Retina Center serves the greater New York City metropolitan providing services to patients with a wide variety of typical and atypical eye conditions. Chris holds a degree from Syracuse University and also has a background in Medical Publishing and Advertising Design.
Christopher C.W. Teng, MD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, and Director of the Glaucoma Service and Glaucoma Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Teng received his undergraduate degree from The University of Chicago and Doctor of Medicine from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, and is a board certified subspecialty trained glaucoma specialist. He completed his Ophthalmology residency at New York University Medical Center and fellowship in Glaucoma at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and magazines, and has presented his research at national and international meetings. His research and clinical interests include the optic nerve complex, parapapillary atrophy, glaucoma surgery, micro invasive glaucoma surgery and complex anterior segment and cataract surgery.
Dr. Omar Ozgur, MD
A board-certified ophthalmologist, specializing in medical and surgical care of abnormalities of the eyelids, tear-drainage system, orbit and upper and mid-face. Dr. Ozgur obtained his BS in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine, and his medical degree from the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mt. Sinai, and an American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) fellowship at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Medical Center. Prior to medical school he was a software engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Ozgur has been integrating computer technology with medical care and research throughout his career, initially as an aerospace medicine intern at the Kennedy Space Center and currently as a co-investigator at the Johnson Space Center investigating ocular, orbital and facial changes in astronauts.
Pedro Vasquez, ORT
Pedro Vasquez was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 10 years old and attended public elementary and high school in NYC. He worked his way through school starting in the house keeping department of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEEI) at Mount Sinai, formally the NYEEI. His hard work and perserverence lead him to advance from a Nursing Assistant (CNA) to the most sought after and talented Operating Room Technician (ORT) at the NYEEI. He has years of experience doing humanitarian missions, working with the Volunteer Health Program (VHP). He has a specific affinity to missions in the Dominican Republic that give him great pride to be able to give back to his country of origin. Pedro has become an indispensible member of the team, providing not only superb operating room care to the poor, but he also helps train local operating room nurses on new techniques to maximize patient surgical care and efficiency.
Ivanhoe A. Gadpaille
Ivanhoe A. Gadpaille, is a resident of Queens, NY, and is a creative and talented freelance cinematographer and videographer, sound mixer and photographer. He credits his childhood for his musical and artistic talents, as son of both a former fashion model/singer and professional photographer from Panama. At the age of eight he mastered photography using his father’s Mamiya camera while shortly thereafter also pursuing music on the acoustic guitar. Prior to his formal training in Film Production at Brooklyn College in New York City, he received his Architectural Degree from the New York Institute of Technology and spent many successful years in working for corporations as a space planner and project manager.