OCT. 6, 2005 | The Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) expanded its medical staff in August with the addition of three fellowship-trained subspecialists to accommodate increased demand for eye care.

In addition, the eye institute will bolster its basic research program in January with the arrival of two research-focused faculty members.

“The institute now has at least two physicians in each of eight ophthalmic subspecialties to provide expert care for all eye conditions and provide continuity for our education program,” said John P. Shock, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of the eye institute. “Research is one of our missions, along with patient care and education, so recruiting these two professors allows us to contribute to the science of ophthalmology.”

The expanded medical staff of 21 specialists includes experts in the fields of cornea and external disease, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology, retina, ocular pathology and comprehensive ophthalmology.

In August, neuro-ophthalmologist Joseph G. Chacko, M.D., glaucoma specialist Inci Dersu, M.D., and retina specialist Bradley Hughes, M.D., arrived at UAMS. The physicians bring highly specialized fellowship training in their areas of expertise.

Chacko recently completed a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami. His clinical interests include diseases of the optic nerve and visual pathway as well as conditions of unexplained vision loss or double vision.

Dersu completed a glaucoma research fellowship at the University of California in San Diego in 1996 and another fellowship in glaucoma at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in 2002. Her clinical interests include new imaging devices that assist in the detection of glaucoma as well as medical and surgical treatment of the disease.

Hughes recently completed a surgical/medical retina fellowship in the Department of Ophthalmology at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. He received his medical degree from UAMS and served his residency in the Jones Eye Institute.

In January, Nalini Bora, Ph.D., will join the eye institute as a professor and director of basic research in the Pat and Willard Walker Eye Research Center. Bora, who is currently at the University of Louisville, has received research grants from the National Eye Institute and has a research interest in uveitis – one of the most common eye diseases. 

Bora’s husband, Puran Bora, Ph.D., also will join the eye institute as a professor in the Department of Ophthalmology. His research interest is in macular degeneration.

The growing clinical, research and education programs will be accommodated in the expanded facilities in the Pat Walker Tower addition of five floors to the Jones Eye Institute. Construction is scheduled to be complete in early 2006.

Opened in 1994, the Jones Eye Institute is one of only 20 free-standing academic eye centers in the nation.

The Pat Walker Tower at the Jones Eye Institute, named for the Springdale philanthropist whose gift to UAMS made the expansion possible, will double the facility’s size. Shock said the additional space is critical because of the continued growth in patient volume as well as the institute’s education and research programs.

The facility currently has 25 patient exam rooms. The expansion will add 18 exam rooms, for a total of 43.

A larger library, additional classroom space for the ophthalmic medical technology program and room for future growth are included in the expansion. There also will be a new eye bank, facilities for clinical trials and space for future growth.

Some remodeling of existing space also will be completed during construction, including the optical shop in the clinic and the addition of two operating rooms.

An April dedication ceremony is being planned for the expansion.

Links on This Page

Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute: http://www.uams.edu/jei/

Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute medical staff: http://www.uams.edu/jei/patients/physicians.asp

Pat and Willard Walker Eye Research Center: http://www.uams.edu/jei/research%5Fcenter/