Leadership Changes

Dr. Brian Ballios is a fellowship-trained clinician-scientist, with a focus on medical retinal disease and a subspecialty in inherited retinal disease.  He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto, where he holds the J. Ardith Hill – Fighting Blindness Canada Professorship in Ocular Genetics Research.  He is appointed as clinician-scientist at the University Health Network in the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute where he is also the Director of the Clinical Research Unit, and is a staff physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the Kensington Vision and Research Centre, where he is also Director of Clinical Electrophysiology.  Dr. Ballios is a Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute where he has a laboratory investigating the mechanisms of acquired and inherited retinal disease, and the development of new stem cell-based therapies.  Dr. Ballios obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Toronto in the combined MD/PhD program.  After completing his Residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Toronto, he undertook a subspecialty clinical fellowship in Inherited Retinal Disease at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard University. Dr. Ballios takes over from Dr. Valerie Wallace in this important role representing the interests of and keeping the executive committee abreast of the groundbreaking work of our discovery scientists across the breadth of the department. We thank Dr. Wallace for her many years as Vice-Chair.

Dr. Clara Chan is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Toronto and the President of the Canadian Cornea Society. She teaches fellows as part of the Cornea fellowship program at the Toronto Western Hospital, and is the Medical Director of the Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division). After her undergraduate studies at Stanford University, she completed medical school at Queen’s University, ophthalmology residency at the University of Toronto, and her cornea fellowship at the Cincinnati Eye Institute with Dr. Edward Holland. Dr. Chan has published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers, received the AAO Senior Achievement Award in 2024, is a Cornea Section Editor for the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, and the Founding Editor of Canadian Eye Care Today. In 2023, Dr. Chan was included in The Ophthalmologist Power List, recognizing the top 100 most influential global figures in ophthalmology. Dr. Chan will be transitioning into this role over the next few months. We thank Dr. Nav Nijhawan for his many years of service overseeing the largest group of learners in our department.

Dr. Michael Thai Binh Nguyen obtained his medical degree from McMaster University. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Toronto where he was Chief Resident and was awarded the Duncan Jamieson Memorial Prize and the Woywitka Cup Award for the graduating resident with the highest academic standing over five years. He then completed a Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Nguyen is a Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences where he also is the Residency Site Director of the Kensington Eye Institute and the Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the Hospital for Sick Children. He is keenly focused on medical education and has won numerous teaching awards including the prestigious PARO Trust Fund Resident Teaching Award.  His clinical interests include pediatric ophthalmology, adult strabismus surgery, and comprehensive ophthalmology with a focus on cataract surgery. Dr. Nguyen succeeds Dr. Jennifer Calafati in this role who we thank for representing our interests and advocating for Ophthalmology in the undergraduate medical curriculum.