CU Ophthalmology

Still smiling about resident and fellow graduation 🎓✨🥹

We're so proud of this incredible group and all they have accomplished throughout their training. From caring for patients and conducting research to teaching, learning, and growing together!

Congratulations to all of our graduates — we can't wait to see where your next chapter takes you! 👏

"Each of them has faced personal or professional challenges at some point during their training, and they have consistently responded with courage, hard work, teamwork, and drive." — Daniel Ozzello, MD

Residency Program Director Daniel Ozzello says one word comes to mind when describing the Class of 2026: grit. 💙

Over the past four years, these residents have cared for patients, mastered new surgical skills, supported one another through challenges, and grown into outstanding ophthalmologists.

We're incredibly proud of all they have accomplished and can't wait to see where their careers take them next. Congratulations to our graduating residents! 🎓👏👁️

Read more: https://bit.ly/4vSdwrF

"I feel incredibly thankful and privileged to have had these experiences, because it’s made me confident going into the next phase of my career." — Meredith Spitz, MD, MBA

As she graduates from our glaucoma fellowship program, Meredith Spitz reflects on a year spent learning from mentors, caring for patients, teaching residents, and developing the skills she'll carry into the next phase of her career.

We're grateful to have been part of her journey and wish her all the best as she returns to Ohio to begin her career as a glaucoma specialist. Congratulations, Dr. Spitz! 👏🎉

Read more: https://bit.ly/3QdQv3s

Diagnosing complex cases? No problem. Solving an escape room? Also no problem 👀🔐

Our ophthalmology residents recently traded the clinic for an escape room challenge, putting their teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills to the test. 😎

We're incredibly proud of this group and all they do as they train to become the next generation of ophthalmologists. ✨

Turns out 7,200 pounds of oranges is... a lot of oranges 🍊🧡

Some of our staff recently volunteered at Food Bank of the Rockies, packing 240 boxes and helping provide 6,000 meals to community members in need.

Thank you to everyone who spent the day giving back and supporting our local community!

A big congratulations to Aleya Peji 🎓✨

Aleya recently graduated with her Master’s in Modern Human Anatomy, and her capstone thesis research was selected as this year’s winner of the Bench Research category for the master’s program.

As a member of the Vergara Lab, Aleya contributed to research focused on understanding retinal development and disease with the goal of advancing future treatments for vision loss and blindness.

Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment, Aleya! 👏

Final reminder — Doximity residency voting closes in 5 days 👁️✨

If you’ve trained with, learned from, or worked alongside our team at the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, we’d be grateful for your support in the 2026–27 Residency Navigator Survey.

When completing the survey in Doximity, you can find us listed as “University of Colorado.”

Thank you for continuing to support our residents, faculty, and program. 💜

One case of pink eye in a classroom and suddenly everyone has questions 👀

Is it contagious? Do they need drops? When can they go back to school?

In a new episode of the Charting Pediatrics podcast from Children’s Hospital Colorado, Rebecca Edwards Mayhew, MD, PhD breaks down the differences between viral, bacterial, and allergic conjunctivitis — along with the warning signs parents and providers should know about.

https://bit.ly/4v2LtWe

Could a tiny wireless chip implanted in the eye help restore some vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration? 👁️

Niranjan Manoharan, MD explains how the experimental PRIMA device works, what current research is showing, and why experts say there’s still more to learn before it could become a treatment option in the U.S.

The technology is generating excitement because geographic atrophy, an advanced form of AMD which currently has very limited treatment options once vision is lost.

Read more:

Could This Eye Implant Restore Vision? What You Should Know About the PRIMA Device A CU Anschutz ophthalmologist shares the potential pros and cons of an experimental procedure that implants a wireless chip in the eye of patients with AMD.