NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY FACULTY
AT PENN
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Grant T. Liu, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; 3400 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104
215-349-8460
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3500 Civic Center Blvd., Phila., PA. 19104
215-590-2791
Dr. Liu, a Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology, received his medical degree from Columbia University. He completed a neurology residency at the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Program and a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami. Although he sees both adult and children with neuro-ophthalmic problems, his special interest is in pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. He has been at Penn and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) since 1993. He was appointed Division Chief in 2012 and then the Raymond G. Perelman Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology at the CHOP in 2015. His clinical research interests include optic pathway gliomas, pediatric pseudotumor cerebri syndrome, and optic neuritis in children.
Publications
Kenneth S. Shindler, MD,
PhD
Scheie Eye Institute; 39th and Market Sts., Phila., PA 19104
215-662-8714
Dr. Shindler, who joined the faculty in July 2004, is the F. M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology and a Professor of Neurology. He received his medical degree from Washington University (St. Louis, MO) and completed his residency in ophthalmology and fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Shindler has a PhD in neuroscience from Washington University. His research interests include studying mechanisms of nerve cell damage in optic neuritis and other diseases of the optic nerve, and development of novel neuroprotective therapies. His laboratory studies are funded by federal grants from the NIH and the Department of Defense, through various foundations including Research to Prevent Blindness and via industry partnerships. In addition to treating patients at the Scheie Eye Institute, Dr. Shindler directs the Neuro-Ophthalmology service at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
Publications
Madhura Tamhankar, MD
Scheie Eye Institute; 39th and Market Sts., Phila., PA 19104
215-662-8042
Dr. Tamhankar, a Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology, completed her residency in ophthalmology and fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Penn faculty and Scheie Eye Institute in 2007. In addition to caring for patients with neuro-ophthalmologic disorders, she performs eye muscle surgery on adults to correct ocular misalignment resulting from childhood strabismus, cranial nerve palsies, strokes and intracranial tumors. Additionally, she co-leads the thyroid eye disease clinic in collaboration with the oculoplastic service. This clinic is a key referral center for patients seeking medical and surgical treatments for complex thyroid eye disease and those considering participation in clinical trials. Her research interests include thyroid eye disease and giant cell arteritis. She is the principal investigator on several industry-sponsored clinical trials exploring new therapies for thyroid eye disease. She collaborates with an International Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium to study MR imaging in giant cell arteritis and helped develop a standardized imaging protocol and scoring system. She is also the Chair of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Committee for the North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society (NANOS) until Oct. 2026.
Publications
Robert A. Avery, DO, MSCE
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 3500 Civic Center Blvd, Phila., PA 19104
215-590-2791
Dr. Avery, an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology, holds the Richard Shafritz Endowed Chair in Pediatric Ophthalmology Research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He joined the faculty in 2015. He completed both his pediatric neurology residency and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Avery also received his Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. His research investigates the utility of optical imaging techniques in optic neuropathies, management of elevated intracranial pressure, and clinical outcome measures in children with optic pathway gliomas. He is the ophthalmology lead for three Phase 3 clinical trials testing new therapies for children with optic pathway gliomas. Since joining the faculty, his laboratory has been continuously funded by the NIH (National Cancer Institute, National Eye Institute, or National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke). He has a special interest in ophthalmologic outcomes in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 and is Co-PI for the NF1-OPG Natural History study. The Gilbert Family Foundation's Visual Restoration Initiative supports his work using advanced MRI analytics and novel biomarkers for neuroprotection and visual restoration therapies.
Publications
Ahmara G. Ross, MD, PhD
Scheie Eye Institute; 39th and Market Sts., Phila., PA 19104
215-662-8042
Dr. Ross, an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology, completed her ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh then fellowships in Neuro-ophthalmology and Glaucoma at the Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania. She also has a PhD from Thomas Jefferson University. In addition to caring for patients with both glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmologic disorders, she also performs ocular surgery ranging from cataracts to minimally invasive and incisional glaucoma surgery. Dr. Ross joined the faculty in 2017, and her research is funded by NIH/NEI, philanthropic, and industry-sponsored grants to investigate the neuroprotective potential of gene therapy directed at retinal ganglion and neighboring support cells to treat optic nerve degeneration.
Publications
Ali G. Hamedani, MD, MHS
Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania; 3400 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104
215-349-8460
Dr. Hamedani is an Assistant Professor of Neurology, Ophthalmology, and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty in 2018 after completing his neurology residency and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has additional training in movement disorders and has a particular interest in the intersection of these two fields. Dr. Hamedani sees neuro-ophthalmology patients at both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital and also directs the Penn Ataxia Clinic at Pennsylvania Hospital. He holds a master's degree in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins, and his NIH-funded research program uses national health survey and administrative claims data to understand the relationship between visual impairment and health outcomes in the aging population.
Publications
Sashank Prasad, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Hospital; 3400 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104
215-349-8460
Dr. Prasad is a Professor of Clinical Neurology and Ophthalmology. He completed his training at the University of Pennsylvania and then was on faculty from 2010-2023 at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). There, he was the program director for the Mass General Brigham Neurology residency and was Vice Chair for Education at BWH. He has been honored with numerous teaching awards over his career and frequently lectures at national and international conferences. He has performed collaborative research using innovative functional imaging methods to investigate disorders of visual perception. He has been on faculty at Penn since 2023, where he serves as the site chief of Neurology at Penn Presbyterian Hospital in addition to his clinical work as a neuro-ophthalmologist and neurohospitalist.
Publications
Adam M. Kruszewski, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; 3400 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104
215-349-8460
Dr. Kruszewski is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology who joined the faculty in 2022 after completing his neurology residency and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He sees adult neuro-ophthalmology patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital. He serves as the director of the medical student neuro-ophthalmology elective at the Perelman School of Medicine and is actively involved in medical student, resident, and fellow education. His clinical and research interests include neuro-ophthalmologic manifestations of neuro-immunologic and autoimmune disorders.
Publications