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Chairman's Message

photo of John Danias

Roman Shinder, MD, FACS
Professor and Interim Chairman
Chairman's Message

Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University. We are located in the borough of Brooklyn within New York City. We strive to provide excellent and compassionate eye care to our patients, train future ophthalmologists, and engage in cutting-edge research to develop better therapies for diseases involving the eye and vision.

The Department of Ophthalmology at SUNY Downstate has a long and rich history in our community. Our patient catchment area is broad and encompasses millions of people. We have over 30 part- and full-time faculty that care for patients across numerous sites in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Our affiliation with Kings County Hospital Center allows us to deliver care to diverse immigrant and financially disadvantaged members of the community.

Our research endeavors have continued to grow in scope and goals over the years. This is true for both clinical and basic science research. Our residents and medical students are able to engage in a varied array of research opportunities with our faculty.

A key goal of the department is providing an outstanding environment and education for our residents-in-training to allow them to become future leaders in eye care. We have one of the largest and busiest resident training programs in the country given our considerable patient volume. Our faculty and residents come from broad and diverse locations and backgrounds, and this diversity is something inherent to the fabric of our faculty and the patients we care for. Diversity and equity are pillars of our mission as can be seen in our faculty, staff, and the patients we care for. We like to think of our faculty and residents as a family and SUNY Downstate as our home away from home.

In summary the Department of Ophthalmology at SUNY Downstate has been, and will continue to be, a recognized leader in providing eye care, engaging in vision research and training the next generation of eye care physicians. We hope this website gives you a sense of who we are and helps to answer some questions you may have. If you are contemplating joining our family as a  resident, fellow, faculty member, or patient, I welcome you to our website which allows us to stay connected with you.