Roy S. Chuck
<p class="bodycopy">Dr. Roy S. Chuck is an ophthalmologist, visual scientist and geneticist known for his stem cell and dry eye research, and work in corneal restoration. He chairs Einstein’s department of ophthalmology and visual sciences, one of only a handful of Asian-Americans to hold such a post in the U.S.</p>
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<p class="bodycopy">He also chairs the ophthalmology department at Montefiore Medical Center, overseeing tertiary care to adult and pediatric patients with diseases of the eye, with subspecialty expertise that includes neuro-ophthalmology, plastic surgery, and retina, cornea and glaucoma services. The department maintains a program of ongoing community outreach aimed at early detection and treatment of eye diseases.</p>
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<p class="bodycopy">Dr. Chuck is a cornea specialist with expertise in laser techniques for refractive eye conditions. He has deep research experience and holds multiple patents. His two main areas of research are corneal stem cell surgery and dry eye, the most common global eye disease. Recently, Dr. Chuck's team developed a unique mouse model of dry eye that allows animal testing of therapies. The model employs the use of <em>botulinum</em> toxin, commonly known as "botox," to block neurotransmitters in the tear-producing lacrimal gland. The resulting dry eye closely mimics that found in humans.</p>
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<p class="bodycopy">Dr. Chuck is a long-time stem cell investigator in connection with corneal transplantation and sight restoration. His work includes cutting-edge corneal stem cell surgery, which has a success rate of nearly 50-percent—one of the highest for stem cell surgery. The operation is performed if the stem cell pool on the eye is wiped out through injury or a genetic condition. Without these regenerating cells, eye injuries, however small, result in opaque scars that reduce or even eliminate vision. Corneal stem cell surgery requires removing the scar tissue and transplanting donated corneal stem cells onto the eye. If successful, the introduced stem cells heal the wound and vision is restored.</p>
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<p class="bodycopy">At Einstein, Dr. Chuck is developing research centers focusing on ophthalmologic disorders including cataracts, ocular surface disease/dry eye, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and eye conditions associated with diabetes.</p>
surgical device development
clinical trials
<div>Dr. Chuck is a prominent stem cell and dry eye researcher. He is a cornea specialist with expertise in the field of laser techniques, including LASIK surgery, corneal replacement, stem cell surgery, and refractive eye problems. </div>
<div><br />A basic scientist as well as a clinical researcher, Dr. Chuck has helped develop a unique model of dry eye using Botox that allows for testing of preclinical therapies. He has served as principal investigator on five FDA studies of vision correction and written more than 175 peer-reviewed papers and more than 100 book chapters and abstracts. Dr. Chuck has been featured several times on ABC News and ABC’s “Good Morning America” on various eye diseases and conditions. He serves on the editorial boards of several publications, including the <em>Journal of Refractive Surgery</em> and <em>Lasers in Surgery and Medicine</em>. </div>
Refractive surgery and corneal disorders including dry eye
Corneal reconstruction and stem cell surgery, dry eye, refractive surgery
<p>Roy S. Chuck, MD, PhD, is Chairman and Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at Montefiore Einstein. Dr. Chuck’s clinical focus is in cornea and external diseases as well as refractive surgery.</p><p>After earning his Bachelor of Science in engineering at University of California, Berkeley, in 1986, Dr. Chuck attended Columbia University, earning his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy in 1993. He started his postdoctoral training at St. Mary’s Health Center, completing a yearlong internship in internal medicine in 1994. From then until 1998, he pursued a residency in ophthalmology at Washington University and Barnes Hospital, acting as chief resident in his final year. In 1999, he completed a yearlong fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California.</p><p>Dr. Chuck’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals as well as shared through many abstracts, book chapters and podium and poster presentations. He has been an editor and served on the editorial boards of many publications including the <em>Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Journal of Refractive Surgery, Current Opinion in Ophthalmology and BMC Ophthalmology</em>. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the major journal <em>ARVO Translational Vision Science and Technology</em> and is a member of the NIH National Eye Institute Council of Editors.</p><p>Dr. Chuck is board certified and is a member of many local, national and international professional societies including the International Society for Refractive Surgery, the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the Manhattan Ophthalmological Society. He currently serves as Secretary for Quality of Care for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.</p>