DEIB Symposium: Digital Health Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the widespread acceptance of telehealth and other digital innovations in healthcare; however, does advancing medical technology help or exacerbate exclusion, introduce unexpected biases, widen the digital divide, and continue to leave some populations behind?

Join us as we discuss the challenges and opportunities that technology has in the broader healthcare landscape and in eye care specifically. Our speakers will discuss their work at the forefront of healthcare and technology and our panelists will discuss specifically how this relates to eye care.

Speakers

Ruth Yomtoubian, MBA, MGM (Keynote Speaker)

Ruth is a veteran of the first wave of corporate-startup innovation centers in Silicon Valley. With her deep knowledge and wide-ranging experience as an innovation expert and leader, she joined VSP Global to launch the VSP Global Innovation Center, where she leads a multi-disciplinary team to scale emerging solutions into existing structures. She is recognized for her fearless ability to fuse unexpected elements into bold new work.

Previously Ruth worked as a global consultant, with clients from the Bay Area to Latin America, facilitating their innovation initiatives, creating and supporting thought leadership necessary for organizations to internalize innovation opportunities, and generally combating “faux-innovation” in its many forms. As Director of the AT&T Foundry, she drove the adoption and alignment of numerous start-up solutions across various lines of business.

Ruth has traveled the world speaking on shifting the paradigm of business. She holds a BA from the University of Southern California and holds an MBA and a Masters in Global Management from Tulane University. She attributes her willingness to get in the trenches to her time working with small businesses in New Orleans.

Jorge Cuadros, OD, PhD

Dr. Jorge Cuadros is the founder of EyePACS, a program used for detecting diabetic eye disease and other conditions that has been used in over 1000 community health centers providing over one million telemedicine enabled retinal exams and cited by over 650 scientific publications. He started his first telemedicine eye care program in 1993, working with UC Berkeley and others to develop a sustainable telemedicine platform based on open source and open access informatics principles. He currently leads the development and clinical collaboration for EyePACS to provide screening in diverse settings throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Cuadros is co-author and co-editor of three books on telemedicine in eyecare. He has served as a consultant for preparing acceptable wording for California Assembly Bills 354, 1224, and 175 that provided a legal framework for teleophthalmology and optometric telehealth in California. He has conducted clinical trials on several innovative technologies, such as automated retinal image reading, laser imaging devices, and primary care programs. His work is focused on expanding access to eye care in underserved communities. He is currently a faculty member and the Director of Informatics Research at the University of California in Berkeley, Optometric Eye Center.

Fayiz Mahgoub, OD

Dr. Mahgoub is an optometrist with a passion for technology and eyecare. He is the founder of Augmented Vision Labs, a technology company that is dedicated to utilizing emerging technologies to solve persistent problems in eyecare.

Dr. Mahgoub enjoys giving back to the optometric community and currently serves as Treasurer of the National Optometric Association (NOA) as well as an Academic & Diplomatic Liaison (West) for the Intrepid Eye Society (IES).

In 2015 Dr. Mahgoub founded Young Leaders in Optometry, a professional leadership organization whose goal is to identify the brightest young minds in optometry and empower them to reach their full potential.

Cory Hakanen, OD

Cory Hakanen, OD, MBA is an Optometrist and Product Manager who specializes in eye care & optical product development. Dr. Hakanen received his OD degree from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, and his MBA from San Jose State University. After working as a clinical optometrist in retail and private practice, he made a pivot into an industry career in Product Management, where he draws on his skills as an OD to influence the development of new eye care products and services in the technology industry.

He has worked in industry roles for companies such as LensCrafters, Zenni, and Twenty Twenty Therapeutics, and currently works at Meta as a Product Manager. He is passionate about advocating for Optometry and the voice of eye care patients in the future of technology, as well as alternative careers for ODs outside of clinical care. Outside of work, he and his husband Eric enjoy traveling, shopping, action movies, and all things Disney.

Niranchana (Ninju) Manivannan, PhD

Dr. Manivannan is the Head of Algorithm Development and Clinical Research at Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. Her team is responsible for developing clinical applications for ophthalmic imaging technologies and for developing algorithmic solutions for OCT, fundus and function testing modalities. She completed her undergraduate at College of Engineering, Guindy and her Ph.D. in Electrical and computer engineering at The Ohio State University. She has a background in radiology and in developing AI solutions for ophthalmic diagnostics.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Dr. Ruth Shoge at:
rshoge@berkeley.edu