The future of innovation

Innovation is at the heart of medicine advancement; it’s how new treatments, imaging, diagnostics, and trials come to the fore to benefit patients, which is a driving ambition at the Byers Eye Institute.

So, when the faculty and leaders at an academic and clinical institute, like the Byers Eye Institute, want to bring more wild-ideas-that-work to fruition, they must ask: can you teach the heady mix of indefatigable curiosity, creativity, ambition, and hope that innovation requires? Faculty members at the Byers Eye Institute say it’s possible — they know because they have been successfully teaching and fostering innovation for years.

Entrepreneurship in action

David Myung, MD, PhD, has spent most of his professional life at Stanford University. When he started medical school at Stanford University in 2001, he was already eying a path toward ophthalmology, but what really set the course for his career was a first-hand look at how innovation in the field can deeply impact patients’ lives.

As he wrapped up medical school in 2006, Myung’s mother found herself with bleeding in her eye due to a retinal tear, a serious condition that if left untreated can lead to vision loss. At Stanford, Myung’s mother was one of the earliest clinical cases treated with the then-newly FDA-approved Pattern Scanning Laser (PASCAL). The laser was created by former Byers Eye Institute Chair Mark Blumenkranz, MD, MMS and Professor Daniel Palanker, PhD, and is now used to treat and correct retinal conditions worldwide.

A potentially life-altering vision emergency was staved off by a quick laser surgery and full recovery. Myung was sold on a new path in medicine as a clinician-scientist and innovator. The Byers Eye Institute was his home for medical residency before he joined as a faculty member in 2015.

Today Myung holds multiple titles at the university, including associate professor of ophthalmology, associate professor of chemical engineering (by courtesy), and director of the Ophthalmic Innovation Program.

The Ophthalmic Innovation Program was first established at the Byers Eye Institute by Blumenkranz in 2016.

"Innovation is now intercalated into the DNA of the Stanford Department of Ophthalmology and self replicating on an ongoing basis,” Blumenkranz said. “Having helped to train and motivate Dave (Myung) is something that I am extremely proud of, as he already is — and will continue to be — at the forefront of America's finest young ophthalmic leaders and innovators.”

The Ophthalmic Innovation Program is based around a yearlong immersive project-based fellowship. Each fellow focuses on a project of their choosing, working deeply with faculty members across the department based on their expertise and professional interests. The fellows learn how to move their work through Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval processes and into clinical use.

“Our fellows have a different type of vision for the future of ophthalmology and the fellowship serves as a springboard for their careers,” Myung said.

Indeed, fellowship graduates are well prepared to make important scientific strides. Several are now faculty members at top vision centers around the country, including Duke, Johns Hopkins, and UCSF. Others are in prominent positions at leading biotech companies.

Michael Mbagwu, MD, the 2020 ophthalmic innovation fellow, arrived at the Byers Eye Institute ready to find a way to make partial corneal transplants, known as descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) surgeries, more effective and less invasive.

He designed microsurgical device prototypes via 3D printing and provided a thorough report to the FDA. He and his team were awarded seed funding and advisory support from the Stanford High Impact Technology (HIT) Fund, created to bring promising products to the market.

“It really enabled us as researchers at Stanford to have access to both funds and mentorship, to really hit on something specific, and to bring an idea to reality,” Mbagwu said.

Mbagwu is now an adjunct clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute and a medical director at a leading ophthalmic biotech company. He’s still working with a team at Stanford, which includes Myung, and biomedical engineer David Buickians, to perfect his DMEK surgery device even as he pushes more innovative ideas forward with the lessons he learned during his fellowship.

The Ophthalmic Innovation Fellowship and the Innovation Program are supported by the Mark Blumenkranz Ophthalmic Innovation Endowed Fund, which has a goal of reaching $5 million in endowment funding to grow and continue the program in perpetuity.

“Dependable funding is important because it allows for advanced planning and the pursuit of big ideas to solve the most pressing unmet needs in the treatment of eye disease,” said Debbie Drake Dunne, senior associate director of Medical Center Development at Stanford.

Stanford’s Ophthalmic Innovation Program has also played a key role in the formation and educational programming of the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Innovation (CCOI) Foundation. Myung and Blumenkranz serve on the leadership board of this international consortium of experts across academia, industry, government, patient, and professional organizations working on innovative technologies to improve patient care.

The foundation hosts events year-round and a CCOI virtual conference each January that attracts more than 1,000 experts from around the world.

Each summer, Myung arranges a popular Ophthalmic Innovation Symposium, a full day event during the Bay Area Ophthalmology Course (BAOC), a month-long training program for budding ophthalmologists hosted at Stanford by the Byers Eye Institute.

Industry experts from universities, industry and government agencies across the country arrive at Stanford’s Palo Alto campus for the Innovation Symposium every year to teach, mentor and inspire attendees to bring their big ideas to life. Myung often ends the day with his mother’s story.

“Life has come full-circle,” Myung said. “Ophthalmic Innovation at Stanford saved my mother’s eye and started me on my journey almost 20 years ago. Our goal and hope for the program is to train the next generation of innovators to develop new and better ways to cure blindness.” 

INNOVATE Symposia

Innovation at the Byers Eye Institute is a constant educational and collaborative initiative.

Andrea Kossler, MD, FACS, associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the Oculofacial Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery, and Orbital Oncology Service at Byers Eye Institute, balances her leadership roles with her passion for treating disease with innovative therapies.

Kossler played a leading role in launching the first INNOVATE Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) symposium in April 2024. She’s been an expert in studying and treating TED for over a decade, though the FDA only approved the first drug treatment for TED in 2020.

“There’s a lot of therapeutic innovation happening right now,” Kossler said. “This is an important opportunity for the researchers, physicians, and scientists to come together to stay on top of the clinical studies and be instrumental players in guiding the ways that we look forward.”

The three-day symposium brought together 34 local, national, and international experts from 12 countries and 130 attendees to discuss the most recent research findings, controversies, and advances in the field.

Kossler drew inspiration from Prithvi Mruthyunjaya, MD, MHS, for the INNOVATE TED program.

Mruthyunjaya, professor of ophthalmology and radiation oncology (by courtesy) was part of the team that launched the INNOVATE Retina symposium in 2020 — the first in a growing series of symposia focused on innovation at the Byers Eye Institute. The goal of the series is to convene leaders, industry executives, and other professionals to discuss the latest innovations on a specific topic. More than 200 retina surgeons, key opinion leaders, and collaborators attended the annual INNOVATE Retina conference in 2024.

“The Innovate format really allows for a lot of frank discussions,” Mruthyunjaya said. “It also leaves our audience with a greater understanding, and perhaps even more inspiration, for how to proceed with their own work.”

INNOVATE Retina is now coordinated by Mruthyunjaya, Professors Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc, Diana Do, MD, and Clinical Assistant Professor Stephen Smith, MD. The group led the symposium in Chicago ahead of the 2024 annual meeting for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Meanwhile, Mruthyunjaya has also launched the INNOVATE Ocular Oncology symposium for clinical and industry leaders to discuss treatments and trends in eye cancer. The one-day program held in November focused heavily on liquid biopsies, radiation toxicities, and artificial intelligence.

“Innovation is a process, and innovation is a mindset,” Mruthyunjaya said. “Giving people opportunities and time is important to spur the innovative process.”