RETINALNET DEVELOPMENT TEAM

 

​FREDRICK LEWISRetinalnet Systems ArchitectABHISHEK P.DATA SCIENTISTCatherine SpoonerDATA SCIENTISTDR. PANKAJ JESWANIOPHTHALMOLOGISTDR. CLAUDIA OSORIOOPHTHALMOLOGISTDr. Richard GammansBio Medical  ScientistWARREN G. MCDONALD, PH.D.DR. ANTHONY LOWEDOCTOR OF OPTOMETRYDR. JO ANN JEFFERSDOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY

 

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FREDRICK LEWIS, NORTH CAROLINA, USA: RETINALNET SYSTEMS ARCHITECT

Beginning in 1974, Fred Lewis served as a U.S. Army Ranger, Special Forces soldier, and as Special Operations - Operator for the US Army’s elite military unit 1st SFOD-Delta (Delta Force). After leaving the military in 1982, Fred gained considerable experience as a security, marketing, sales and program development consultant. As a commercial - entrepreneur, he created, operated and spun off several start-ups in the fields of telecommunications, software development and artificial intelligence.

From 1996 to 2003 Fred founded and operated Intertel Corp a Makati, Philippines based telecommunications company.Intertel marketed discounted International Direct Dial service for IGF (International Gateway Facility) Carriers.  The company was the first IGF “Authorized Re-Seller” to operate in the Philippines.  Intertel provided telecommunication services to both local and international carriers including, Eastern Telecommunications, Piltel, Capwire, Globe and MCI WorldCom.

From 2004 to 2012 Fred founded and operated CitizensSoft, Inc., Makati, Philippines.  CitizensSoft was a software development company that collaborated with De La Salle University to develop kernel level software that enabled selected Windows applications to run on the Linux Operating System.

Beginning in 2017 Fred served as Chief Software Architect for AI nMind a Hong Kong based artificial intelligence laboratory ainmind.com. In 2019 Fred was granted patent-pending status for his invention of the Easy Automation Application for the automated development of chatbots.

Fred is also a serial - social entrepreneur. In the late 1980's he founded and operated a series of non-profit organizations beginning with the USA based 501 (c) 3 AWARE Program.  AWARE was a crime prevention education agency.  He developed the curriculum and trained the instructors. The AWARE agency taught over 1000 students to avoid violent criminal confrontations. The agency was certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education, as well as numerous Collegiate institutions including Midland College, Texas Tech University and University of Texas at Austin.

In 2003 Fred founded the non-profit Hope Street Association, a Philippines-based youth NGO for social and educational evolution. In collaboration with (PNU) Philippine Normal University, Mr. Lewis has designed, developed and instituted a teacher training program for the implementation of the Fix-The-Future livelihood education and training program for the benefit of (OSY's) Out of School Youths. In support of Fix the Future, Mr. Lewis served as the architect and project manager for the development of the ALMS Mobile  software platform that is a gamified, and artificially intelligent learning management system.  The Fix-The-Future proof of concept program was successfully field tested for one year at Maximo Elementary School under the banner of HopeNet in collaboration with the Department of Education, Philippines.

In 2017 Fred was appointed as a Fellow by (PNU) Philippine Normal University.

 

​ABHISHEK P., MUMBAI, INDIA: DATA SCIENTIST

Abhishek P. is pursuing his doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. His research interests include Deep Learning for Computer Vision, Scientific Visualization, Internet of Things and High Performance Computing. He has published numerous papers on Deep Neural Networks for Image Processing in reputed IEEE conferences and other venues. Abhishek has also completed relevant certification courses related to Deep Learning on the Coursera platform. He has been a recipient of research fellowships including grants from IEEE and the US National Science Foundation (NSF); and internships including Google Summer of Code. Abhishek is an open source enthusiast and is extremely passionate in working towards leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence for the betterment of the society.

 

​Catherine Spooner, North Carolina, USA:  Data Scientist

Catherine S. recently graduated with a degree in Computer Science and is pursuing a graduate certificate in data science from Fayetteville State University. Her research interests include AI and Computer Vision. She has been a co-author on a few papers utilizing Machine Learning. Previously she participated in a project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she where she developed machine learning algorithms that predicted protein folding based on amino acid chains. She also participated in a project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she developed machine learning algorithms that predicted the binding affinity of protein fragments to the major histocompatibility complex, an important part of the immune system. She is planning on joining a doctoral program in the future.

 

​DR. PANKAJ JESWANI, NAGPUR, INDIA: OPHTHALMOLOGIST

Dr. Pankaj Jeswani received is Doctor of Ophthalmology from Sankara Nethralaya, India’s Premiere Eye Institute in 2016.  He is passionate about medical education and teaching and is currently a faculty member in Opthamology where he helps students with the preparation for medical PG entrance exams.  He is a member of YOSI, Young Ophthalmologists of India and AIOS, All India Ophthalmology Society.

Dr. Jeswani is very progressive in his approach to eyecare and has been a member of a team that has been involved in a comprehensive study to develop ophthalmology software utilizing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  He was part of the Google team that analyzed, tagged and categorized fundoscopy retinal fundus images for diabetic retinopathy (hard exudates, cotton wool spots, dot hemorrhages, blot hemorrhages, macular edema etc).  He has further gained recognition in discovering new approaches to eyecare and the study of the eye and was recognized in in the following papers and awards:

• Gold Medal, Dr S Kanthimathyanathan Endowment Gold medal for Neuro-ophthalmology for the year 2018.
• Gold Medal, Divya Chaturvedi Endowment Gold Medal for Uvea for the year 2018.
• Chief Resident(Dec’ 2017 to May 2018)  at Sankara Nethralaya, Medical Research Foundaton, Chennai.
• External ophthalmomyiasis due to Oestrus ovis, published in Indian Journal of Ophthalmology
• Dutta Majumder P, Jeswani P, Jeyathilakan N, Biswas J. External
• ophthalmomyiasis due to Oestrus ovis. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2019
• Mar;67(3):404-405. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1391_18. PubMed PMID: 30777968.
• Delegate,World Conference on Ophthalmic Anaesthesia 2017
• Delegate,Sangam 2017 (Glaucoma conferenece)
• Delegate,Retina Summit 2016, Chennai

 

​DR. CLAUDIA OSORIO, GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR: OPHTHALMOLOGIST

Dr. Osorio, dedicating 17 years to her education, has acquired a very impressive background in medicine.  She began her education in 2000 – 2007 at Universidad del Zulia, Maricaibo, Venezuela, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), achieving the highest qualification award.   In 2010, she went on to receive her Master of Education (M.Ed.), in Ophthalmology, followed by her M.D. Retina at the Instituto Docente de Especialidades Oftalmologicas in 2014 where she concenitrated on medical, surgical and research skills in Retinal diseases.  In 2017 she received her M.D., Uveitis, at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, concentrating on medical, surgical research and skill in inflammatory eye diseases.

As a Medical and Surgical Retina-Uveitis Specialist since year 2014, Dr. Osorio has played a role in managing patients in the following areas of expertise: - Diabetic Retinopathy - Retinal detachment (any etiology) - Macular disease o surgical: macular hole, epirretinal membranes, etc. o medical: age related macular degeneration, neovascular membranes, macular edema, dystrophies, etc. - Myopic degeneration - Vascular occlusive disease - Retinopathy of Prematurity - Intraocular inflammation disease (infectious, autoimmune) - Ocular trauma.  She has participated in the education (grand rounds) of Ophthalmology residents and Retina fellows from 2015 to 2017. During this time shesupervised and developed scientific papers presented at Medical Meetings.

Dr. Osorio has participated in several studies in the Ohthalmology - Retina field:

• Rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis in an inmunocompetent individual: a case report. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LIX National Ophthalmology Congress.
• Simpathetic Ophthalmia management: case report. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LIX National Ophthalmology Congress.
• Retinoblastoma Incidence at University Hospital of Maracaibo. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LIX National Ophthalmology Congress.
• Early Vitrectomy for Idiopathic epirretinal membrane management. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LXI National Ophthalmology Congress. VI Keratoconus Global Meeting.
• Effect of antiangiogenic in closing the idiopathic macular hole. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LXI National Ophthalmology Congress. VI Keratoconus Global Meeting.
• Central macular thickness assessment through Spectral- domain Optical coherence tomography. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the VI Retina-vitreous Panamerican Society Congress.
• Choroidal thickness assessment in healthy eyes through Optical coherence tomography. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the VI Retina-vitreous Panamerican Society Congress.
• Sutureless transconjunctival vitrectomy combined with femtosecond laser-assisted phacoemulssification. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the VI Retina-vitreous Panamerican Society Congress.
• Basal choroidal thickness as predictor of treatment response in diabetic macular edema. Paper presented within the Scientific Program of the LXIII National Ophthalmology Congress. Enhanced
• Vitreous Imaging (EVI) through spectral domain optical coherence.
• Since 2015 to present, Dr. Osorio’s career has gained her notoriety as a Retina Specialist with a concentration in surgical and medical management of retinal disease.  She is an active member of
• American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Retina and Vitreous Group, Venezuelan Society of Ophthalmology
• Pan American Society of Retinopathy of Prematurity
• National Society of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics,Ecuador
• Medical Practice: Medical and Surgical Retina and Uveitis Specialist at Ophthalmic Center Varas Samaniego

 

​Dr. Richard Gammans,  NORTH CAROLINA, USA: Bio Medical Scientist

Dr. Gammans has 40 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry managing the discovery, selection, pre-clinical and clinical safety and efficacy testing, scale-up and manufacturing, and registration of new chemical entities with the United States FDA and its foreign counterparts throughout the world. The vast majority of his career has been in private industry working on commercial projects including his work as Senior Scientist with Bristol Myers, while his academic appointments have been in teaching and advisory roles. Dr. Gammans has been a key participant or manager of research advancing over 30 candidates to IND status and on 8 new chemical entity NDAs, along with their foreign counterparts. His didactic training is in Synthetic and Analytical Organic Chemistry, Structure Elucidation, Enzymology and Molecular Pharmacology/Toxicology, and in Management Sciences, which is valuable to projects when integrating and interpreting the findings, and planning, leading, organizing and controlling research and development activities.

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:

1) Traynor AM, Gordon MS, Alberti D, Mendelson DS, Munsey MS, Wilding G, Gammans, RE, Read WL. A

dose escalation, safety, and tolerability study of MN-029 in patients with advanced solid tumors. Invest

New Drugs. 2009 May 13. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 19434370.

2) Tirschwell DL, Longstreth WT Jr, Becker KJ, Gammans RE Sr, Sabounjian LA, Hamilton S, Morgenstern

LB. Shortening the NIH Stroke scale for use in the prehospital setting. Stroke. 2002 Dec;33(12):2801-6.

PubMed PMID: 12468773.

3) Sandford JJ, Forshall S, Bell C, Argyropoulos S, Rich A, D'Orlando KJ, Gammans, RE, Nutt DJ. Crossover

trial of pagoclone and placebo in patients with DSM-IV panic disorder. J Psychopharmacol. 2001

Sep;15(3):205-8. PubMed PMID: 11565630.

4) Clark WM, Williams BJ, Selzer KA, Zweifler RM, Sabounjian LA, Gammans RE. A randomized efficacy trial of citicoline in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Stroke. 1999 Dec;30(12):2592-7. PubMed PMID:

10582983.

5) Clark WM, Warach SJ, Pettigrew LC, Gammans RE, Sabounjian LA. A randomized dose-response trial of

citicoline in acute ischemic stroke patients. Citicoline Stroke Study Group. Neurology. 1997 Sep;49(3):671-8.

PubMed PMID: 9305321.

6) Barbhaiya RH, Shukla UA, Pfeffer M, Pittman KA, Shrotriya R, Laroudie C, Gammans RE. Disposition

kinetics of buspirone in patients with renal or hepatic impairment after administration of single and multiple doses. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1994;46(1):41-7. PubMed PMID: 7911763.

7) Shyu WC, Mayol RF, Pfeffer M, Pittman KA, Gammans RE, Barbhaiya RH. Biopharmaceutical evaluation

of transnasal, sublingual, and buccal disk dosage forms of butorphanol. Biopharm Drug Dispos. 1993

Jul;14(5):371-9. PubMed PMID: 8218955.

8) Gammans RE, Stringfellow JC, Hvizdos AJ, Seidehamel RJ, Cohn JB, Wilcox CS, Fabre LF, Pecknold JC,

Smith WT, Rickels K. Use of buspirone in patients with generalized anxiety disorder and coexisting

depressive symptoms. A meta-analysis of eight randomized, controlled studies. Neuropsychobiology.

1992;25(4):193-201. PubMed PMID: 1454160.

9) Böhm C, Robinson DS, Gammans RE. Buspirone therapy for elderly patients with anxiety or depressive

neurosis. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990 Jul;51(7):309. PubMed PMID: 2195007.

10) Robinson DS, Rickels K, Feighner J, Fabre LF Jr, Gammans RE, Shrotriya RC, Alms DR, Andary JJ,

Messina ME. Clinical effects of the 5-HT1A partial agonists in depression: a composite analysis of

buspirone in the treatment of depression. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1990 Jun;10(3 Suppl):67S-76S.

PubMed PMID: 2198303.

11) Böhm C, Robinson DS, Gammans RE, Shrotriya RC, Alms DR, Leroy A, Placchi M. Buspirone therapy in

anxious elderly patients: a controlled clinical trial. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1990 Jun;10(3 Suppl):47S-51S.

PubMed PMID: 2198301.

12) Böhm C, Placchi M, Stallone F, Gammans RE, Alms DR, Shrotriya RC, Robinson DS. A double-blind

comparison of buspirone, clobazam, and placebo in patients with anxiety treated in a general practice

setting. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1990 Jun;10(3 Suppl):38S-42S. PubMed PMID: 1973939.

13) Gammans RE, Westrick ML, Shea JP, Mayol RF, LaBudde JA. Pharmacokinetics of buspirone in elderly

subjects. J Clin Pharmacol. 1989 Jan;29(1):72-8. PubMed PMID: 2708551.

14) Caccia S, Vigano GL, Mingardi G, Garattini S, Gammans RE, Placchi M, Mayol RF, Pfeffer M. Clinical

pharmacokinetics of oral buspirone in patients with impaired renal function. Clin Pharmacokinet. 1988

Mar;14(3):171-7. PubMed PMID: 3370902.

15) Bartek MJ, Mayol RF, Boarman MP, Gammans RE, Gallo DG. Analysis of encainide and metabolites in

plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography. Ther Drug Monit. 1988;10(4):446-52.

PubMed PMID: 3144068.

​WARREN G. MCDONALD, PH.D., NORTH CAROLINA, USA:  HEALTH ADMINISTRATOR

Dr. McDonald is an internationally recognized educator, consultant and practitioner. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Care Administration at Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC. He is also Chief Executive Officer of McDonald and Associates, LLC, a consulting firm affiliated with Leadership Management International, dedicated to improving individuals and organizations. He is a Registered Optician in the State of North Carolina, and serves as a consultant to a number of ophthalmic and general health care organizations in the areas of staff training and development, and practice management. His academic background includes undergraduate degrees in Opticianry and Management. He holds graduate degrees in Health Care Management, Education and the Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences, as well as a number of professional certifications, including the prestigious Master of Ophthalmic Optics, and Advanced Certification in Contact Lenses from the National Contact Lens Examiners. He is a member of the Class of 2005 at the Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education at Harvard University, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Health Care Risk Management from the University of Florida.

Additional faculty appointments include Contributing Professor in the School of Health Sciences at Walden University where he teaches in the PhD/DBA and Master of Health Administration programs, and mentors doctoral students in the Health Sciences and Health Administration. He is also serves on the adjunct faculty at Logan University in the Doctoral Program, and the Master of Health Administration Program at Southern Illinois University. Prior to joining the faculty at Methodist University he held senior-level administrative positions in the University of North Carolina system, and regularly consults with a number of institutions in the development and implementation of online and off-campus programs.

Dr. McDonald is active in his community, serving on the Board of Trustees of Cape Fear Valley Health Systems, the Southern Regional Area Health Education Center (current chair), and was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina to serve on the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the North Carolina State Bar. He was most recently appointed by the North Carolina Speaker of the House as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fayetteville State University, an historic HBCU, and constituent member of the University of North Carolina system.

Dr. McDonald is a noted speaker at professional meetings both nationally and internationally and regularly writes for a number of journals. He is active in many professional and civic organizations, including the American College of Health Care Executives, who awarded him the Regents Award for the State of North Carolina in 2016 for his work in Higher Education. He is a member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and serves regularly on certification review teams for Health Administration programs nationwide. He is a member of the editorial review boards for the Frontiers of Public Health, Hospital Topics, and the Journal of Health Administration Education. His latest book (2016) is entitled Strategic Analysis for Health Care; Concepts and Practical Applications, published by Health Administration Press. A second edition will be released in June of 2020.

 

​DR. ANTHONY LOWE, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA: DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY

Dr. Lowe has a degree in biology from Marshall University.  He completed his doctor of optometry at The Ohio State University’s College of Optometry and completed an elective residency in ocular disease at the Battle Creek, Michigan VA Medical Center through Michigan’s College of Optometry.

Dr. Lowe was an adjunct professor at Michigan’s College of Optometry, Pennsylvania College of Optometry (Salus University) and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Dr. Lowe was a staff senior-ranking optometrist and externship director in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina; he cared for our nation’s heroes for over 7 years with the VA system.

Following his tenure with the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Lowe served as the South Territory Eye Care Director for Luxottica Target Optical brand; Luxottica is the largest optical company in the world. Today, he owns and operates For Your Eye Site in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He enjoys writing, reading and self-care during our pandemic.

 

​DR. JO ANN JEFFERS, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA: DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY

Dr. Jeffers, after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, completed her Doctor of Optometry at Salus University, Elkins Park Pennsylvania in 1985. Prior to moving to South Carolina, she worked as an Optometrist for several clinics until she opened her own private practice, Cherry Grove Eye Care, Cherry Grove, SC in 1994.

Taking a more holistic methodology to eyecare, concentrating her approach on how her patients could increase their eye health by taking care of the whole body, she sold her practice in Cherry Grove and opened again in Little River, SC as Inner Vision Health.  There she has been successful in incorporating her passion for whole body health by integrating eye care with proper nutrition, targeted intake of certain nutrients and general diet maintenance.  Viewing the condition of the eyes as a reflection of whole body health has led Dr. Jeffers to incorporate hypnotherapy as an adjunct for pain management, visual comfort and smoking cessation.  Utilizing Craniosacral Therapy, she has been able to investigate its use in helping a variety of eye related disorders, including glaucoma and optic nerve function, strabismus, headaches and cranial nerve function. Utilizing Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequencies (PEMF) via an Ondamed instrument designed in Germany, Dr. Jeffers has been able to help the body achieve homeostasis in order to mitigate many eye related disorders.

To increase her knowledge base, Dr. Jeffers has become a student of Iridology to study how the iris of the eye can be examined to determine information about a patient’s systemic health by matching observations to iris charts which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body.

 

​Abstract    Methodology