2025 Annual Report
Message from the Chair
As we reflect on the past year, I am filled with pride and gratitude for the continued growth and accomplishments of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and UAB Callahan Eye. Fiscal Year 2025 has been a year of transformation, collaboration, and renewed strength across all areas of our mission: education, research, and patient care.
On August 1, 2025, UAB Callahan Eye’s hospital operations officially integrated into UAB Hospital, joining the largest and most comprehensive health system in Alabama. This milestone positions us for long-term sustainability and growth, giving us access to the system’s vast resources and economies of scale while allowing us to maintain our focus on ophthalmology. This integration strengthens our ability to deliver exceptional patient care and expand access to specialized eye services throughout the state and region.
In tandem with this evolution, UAB Callahan Eye has welcomed several new executive leaders whose experience and vision are helping shape the next chapter of our growth. The Department’s leadership has been working closely with this refreshed executive team to align strategies and ensure a strong, unified direction for the future.
Our education programs remain among the strongest in the nation. We are proud of our 2025 residency graduates, who secured competitive fellowships and private practice opportunities across the country. As we look ahead, we are excited to welcome a promising new group of residents for the class of 2029 and to continue attracting top candidates who will carry forward our legacy of clinical and academic excellence.
Our 26th Annual Research Symposium showcased cutting-edge work and featured nationally recognized experts from across the country. It remains a cornerstone of our department’s culture of discovery and collaboration. Our faculty also continue to make meaningful contributions to the field, publishing 93 papers in high-impact journals through October, 2025.
We are pleased to welcome new clinical and research faculty members who are enhancing our depth and expanding access to care in key subspecialties. Our research enterprise continues to flourish, supported by $9.1 million in funding in FY25, advancing critical work in areas such as glaucoma, retinal disease, and neuroinflammation.
Our faculty were again recognized on the national stage for their excellence in vision science, with several earning major honors from leading organizations in ophthalmology and vision research. These achievements underscore the exceptional talent and dedication of our team and reaffirm our standing as a national leader in vision research and education.
As we look to the year ahead, we remain steadfast in our mission to preserve and restore sight through world-class patient care, groundbreaking research, and the training of future ophthalmic leaders. With continued support from our partners, alumni, and friends, the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and UAB Callahan Eye will continue to shape the future of eye health.
Brian C. Samuels, M.D., Ph.D.
The EyeSight Foundation of Alabama Endowed Chair
Dennis Endowed Professor in Glaucoma Research
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
FOR THE FULL REPORT AND GRAPHICS, CLICK HERE
2024 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report
Message from the Chair
The year 2023 will be a year I will always look back on with great pride and humbleness as I proudly took the position as permanent chair of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. I am extremely proud of the things we were able to accomplish during the 18 months I was interim chair, and I am honored to lead the department as we work to continue the trajectory of becoming a destination for eye care in all of our mission areas.
In this folder, you will see a snapshot of what we accomplished in 2023 – from living out our mission of providing access to care for people in central Alabama with the opening of our 20th clinic location to the outstanding work our research team has produced and published to a new international rotation that allows our residents to provide care for patients around the world.
You will hear from our first-ever cornea fellow and catch up with alumni who write about their residency experiences and how their time here laid the groundwork for their success. You will also learn more about our ALSTAR2 program and meet another exceptional class of residents who are eager to make a positive impact in the world of ophthalmology.
On the clinical side, 2023 was another record-breaking year as we treated more patients than ever before in our clinics, operating rooms, and emergency department. While we are proud of these numbers, I am more astounded by the work our team does to ensure our patients are provided the highest level of care. Our team does an outstanding job of taking care of our patients while also providing them and their families with exceptional patient experiences.
UAB Callahan Eye is a special place, and I am truly grateful to our faculty, physicians, researchers, and staff for their dedication and commitment to preserving and restoring the vision of our patients and curing the world’s blinding diseases.
Brian C. Samuels, MD, PhD
EyeSight Foundation of Alabama Endowed Chair
Dennis Endowed Professor in Glaucoma Research
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
FOR THE FULL REPORT AND GRAPHICS, CLICK HERE
2022 Annual Report
Message from the Interim Chair
When I look back on 2022, I am astounded by the growth across all areas of our mission, including adding multiple faculty members to our staff, expanding our footprint with new clinic openings in central Alabama, welcoming our first-ever first-year interns to the residency program, and continuing to lead the way in key areas of ophthalmic research. Our new brand – UAB Callahan Eye – which launched externally in August, has brought the clinical and academic missions together, and we are excited to continue building our reputation as a destination for eye care in the state, region, and around the nation.
The year also brought us back to “normal,” and we were thrilled to begin hosting our alumni and audiences for events after a two-year break. While COVID-19 insulated us from each other, it made us realize the importance of gathering, whether we were hosting our alumni at the AAO event in Chicago, hosting our annual Symposium, or celebrating our colleagues on well-accomplished careers.
In this publication, you will read about some of our accomplishments in 2022, including how Dr. Owsley and her team secured one of the largest grants in our history from the NIH’s Bridge2AI Program. You will also be introduced to our first-year residents, who, for the first time ever, are spending their intern year with us in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. They give us a glimpse into their daily lives as well as the rotations they have completed and what they are looking forward to for the remainder of their residencies.
We also caught up with a few of our alumni who have had very successful professional careers. As I have mentioned before, our alumni are exceptional, and we are so proud of the impact they make, not only in the world of ophthalmology but in their communities.
The year 2022 was a record-breaking year for our clinical and surgical teams, who saw increases in numbers in all facets – from our Lions Clinic and Emergency Department to our clinics and operating rooms. Our faculty and staff continue to raise the bar, treating a record number of patients each year while continuing to provide excellent patient care and experiences for everyone they encounter. Additionally, our research faculty submitted a record number of grants and had a record number of peer-reviewed publications.
I am honored to serve as the interim chair for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The commitment of our faculty, staff, clinicians, and researchers is second-to-none, and I am truly grateful for the work everyone in our organization does to further the mission and vision of UAB Callahan Eye.
I look forward to what is ahead for the department and I am proud to be part of this organization.
Brian C. Samuels, MD, PhD
Interim Chair and Associate Professor
Dennis Endowed Professor in Glaucoma Research
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
FOR THE FULL REPORT AND GRAPHICS, CLICK HERE