The ability of genetics to decide if you could be harmed by eye vitamins has been confirmed by several leading experts in the field. Dr. Brent Zanke MD, PhD was awarded a US patent for this discovery which has been reported in leading medical journals. Researchers from Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Toronto published extensive research on the harmful effects of AREDS vitamins in some individuals. To learn more about what eyecare professionals are saying about AMD and genetics, please see below.
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Dr. Dennis Ruskin, O.D
Dr. Ruskin graduated with an OD degree at the University of Waterloo in 1976. In 1989 he received a fellowship with the American Academy of Optometry. Dr. Ruskin has been an appointed advisory member to various committees within the Canadian provincial government, College of Optometrists of Ontario, Ontario Association of Optometrists, pharmaceutical corporations. He is a past president of the College of Optometrists of Ontario (the regulatory body governing optometry in the province of Ontario), and served as chair of the clinical practice committee of the college. As well, he has had a clinical affiliation with the Vision Institute of Canada, and has served as examiner for the Canadian Examiners of Optometry. He lectures to eye care professionals in North America and is a clinical investigator with the Center for Ocular Research and Education (CORE) University of Waterloo. Dr. Ruskin has an interest in nutrition and its impact on ocular and systemic disease. He is a founding board director of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society and past chair and current member of the Ocular Nutrition Special Interest Group of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO).
Dr. Pradeepa "Deepa" Yoganathan, MD,
Dr. Pradeepa "Deepa" Yoganathan, MD was born and raised in Montreal and completed her Bachelor of Science in Physiology at McGill University. She then obtained her medical degree at Albany Medical College and completed her Residency at the North Shore - Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, NY. In 2009 she graduated from a two-year Vitreo-Retinal Fellowship at the University of Toronto, St Michael's Hospital.
Since her graduation in 2010, Dr. Yoganathan has been practicing cross-border between practices as a Retinal Associate at the Windsor Laser Eye Clinic/ Tayfour Clinic in Ontario and the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit Michigan.
She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Opthalmology and Vision Science at the University of Toronto and an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology Visual and Anatomic Sciences at Wayne State University. She has published over 15 papers and presented her research numerous times at ASRS, AAO, ARVO and the Canadian Ophthalmological Society meetings. As a principal researcher in the "GAIN" study (Genetics and Age-Related Eye Disease Study Formulation Interaction in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration), Dr. Yoganathan was honoured to have it selected and give the "Last Word" presentation at the American Society of Retinal Surgeons Annual Meeting in 2019. The Last Word presentation acknowledges that "Sometimes a topic deserves more time...the most controversial, the most fascinating, the most important and the most memorable".
Dr. Stephen Kaufman, MD
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D., is a board-certified ophthalmologist, fellowship-trained in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the retina and vitreous.
Dr. Kaufman earned his undergraduate degree at Yale University and his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. He completed his internship at Harlem Hospital in New York City and his residency in ophthalmology at New York University. He received his fellowship training in vitreo-retinal disorders at New York University and Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital.
Upon completion of his sub-specialty training, Dr. Kaufman returned to Cleveland, where he practiced ophthalmology for seven years. In 1998, he joined Vitreo-Retinal Consultants, Inc.
In addition to practicing retina, Dr. Kaufman has been actively involved in medical education. He is an Assistant Professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Kaufman teaches residents in the diagnosis and treatment of retinal disorders and leads the resident "Ethics in Ophthalmology" course. He has also been published in several professional journals. Dr. Kaufman was the principal investigator for the Vitreo-Retinal Consultants, Inc. site of the Verteporfin Study and most recently the Genetics and Age-Related Eye Disease (G.A.I.N.) Study published in the Journal of VitreoRetinal Diseases. 2021