Recently Graduated Residency Program Alumni

“My ophthalmology training at Weill Cornell provided me with the knowledge, experience and critical thinking skills required to be a vitreoretinal surgeon through dedicated training curriculum, complex cases, didactics and passionate mentors and educators invested in teaching the next generation of eye surgeons to provide high quality best clinical care with ethos and compassion. I was also very fortunate to be mentored as a physician scientist under the leadership of Dr. D’Amico and Dr. Rosenblatt to pursue research, innovation, and advancing knowledge during my residency as an important way towards improving clinical care for the patients of the future. My years as a resident at Weil Cornell was the foundation for my career in academia as a physician-surgeon -scientist and Professor at University of Chicago, Founder/Leader of UChicago Retina Microbiome team and Director of the J. Terry Ernest Ocular Imaging Center. I will always be grateful to my mentors and for my training at Cornell and proud to be part of the Cornell Ophthalmology family.”

Dimitra Skondra MD, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Founder/Leader, UChicago Retina Microbiome Team
Director, J. Terry Ernest Ocular Imaging Center
Vitreoretinal Service
The University of Chicago

“I benefit daily from the valuable experience I gained in residency at Weill Cornell Medicine.  Cornell's team of dedicated attendings imparted their knowledge and demonstrated commitment to patient care, while providing us the autonomy to make important decisions on complex patients when appropriate.  As a chief resident, I was given the opportunity to transition from learner to leader, with guidance. I strive to channel this educational standard in my oculoplastics role at Duke.”

Jason Liss, MD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Oculofacial and Orbital Surgery
Duke University School of Medicine

“After residency at Weill Cornell you will be able to pursue any career path you want. For me, the combination of excellent clinical and surgical training, exposure to severe corneal disease (burns, chemical injury, SJS) and guidance of the faculty gave me the foundation for a career as a clinician-scientist. The biggest thing, however, is the environment at Cornell - a tight-knit residency program and close relationships with faculty who are generous with their time, all in one of the world's most vibrant cities.”

Thomas H. Dohlman, MD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Harvard Medical School
Medical Director, Boston Keratoprosthesis Program
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

“Doing an Ophthalmology residency at Weill Cornell played an integral role in my professional path in medicine. The residency is unique in that is provides the perfect balance of supervision and independence, which is needed for successful development of Ophthalmology knowledge and surgical skills. In addition, the faculty support was unparalleled with daily clinical teaching huddles, individualized wetlab and surgical review sessions, and professional mentoring. I am proud to have graduated from Weill Cornell and matched into a competitive ASOPRS fellowship. I try to embody the concepts that I learned at Weill Cornell with my patients, medical students, residents, and colleagues.”

Anne Barmettler, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Professor of Surgery
Director, Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center

“The ophthalmology residency at NYP/Weill Cornell is an incredible springboard for any future opportunity because you experience the breadth and depth of a world-class quaternary care medical center while simultaneously experiencing the tightknit environment of our department and faculty. This combination of meaningful, personalized mentorship in a faculty practice together with amazing patients with the entire spectrum of ophthalmic needs allows for tremendous personal and professional growth. In my case, the mentorship I experienced allowed me to identify glaucoma as my passion, match into my first-choice fellowship at Duke, and then return to be on faculty at Weill Cornell, where I have continued to experience personal and professional growth thanks to my colleagues, patients, trainees, and vast institutional resources.”

Sarah H. Van Tassel, MD 
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology 
Glaucoma, Cataracts, and General Eye Diseases
Weill Cornell Medicine 
Israel Englander Department of Ophthalmology

"One of the greatest strengths of my training at Weill Cornell was the breadth and depth of clinical experience. Training in New York City exposed me to an extraordinary range of patients, practice settings, and pathology, from the bread-and-butter cases every ophthalmologist needs to master to rare and memorable diagnoses that expanded my clinical perspective. The mentorship at Cornell was outstanding and lasting, and I am fortunate to remain close with many of my former faculty mentors. The residency also had a genuinely tight-knit sense of community, and the relationships I built there have lasted well beyond graduation. That combination of broad clinical exposure, strong fundamentals, and lasting mentorship prepared me exceptionally well for my surgical retina fellowship and continues to shape the way I practice today as a vitreoretinal surgeon."

"Residency was a formative experience of teaching moments and personal growth. I emerged from it with immense gratitude. After countless hours spent together in the operating room, wet lab, and reviewing surgical videos, the voices of my mentors in oculoplastics, pediatrics, and anterior segment surgery still echo in my head! Meanwhile, enthusiastic teachers in neuro-ophthalmology and retina instilled in me a hungry curiosity that served me well in vitreoretinal fellowship. This is a forward-thinking program that evolved with us during our trainee years: never dull, never stagnant. Working in the Upper East Side, Lower Manhattan, and Flushing allowed me to care for patients from all walks of life while developing clinical, research, and teaching interests in the best city in the world! Weill Cornell will always feel like home."

 

James Winebrake MD (Chief Resident 2023-2024)

Vitreoretinal Surgeon 

Cape Fear Retinal Associates

Wilmington, NC

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"I am deeply grateful for my ophthalmology training at Weill Cornell, which provided the foundation for both my clinical development and career path. Serving as Chief Resident was a transformative leadership experience that strengthened my confidence, leadership skills, and commitment to resident education. My training in Queens offered invaluable exposure to a diverse patient population and a wide range of ophthalmic pathology, including complex medical and surgical cases. The exceptional clinical and surgical training I received as a resident prepared me to transition seamlessly into a glaucoma fellowship at the University of Kentucky and reinforced the values that continue to guide my career: lifelong learning, academic curiosity, and compassionate patient care. I remain proud to be a Weill Cornell alumna and am deeply appreciative of the outstanding mentorship, lifelong friendships, and unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care and education that continue to shape both my professional and personal journey."

 

Sayyada Hyder, MD (Chief Resident 2024-2025)

Glaucoma Specialist 

Glaucoma Center of Pensacola

Pensacola, FL

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"My ophthalmology residency experience at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine was one of the most meaningful and formative experiences of my life, both personally and professionally. I was fortunate to learn from brilliant, dedicated faculty and to work alongside exceptionally talented colleagues in an environment that was consistently supportive, collaborative, and deeply invested in our growth. The program provided outstanding clinical and surgical training, thoughtful mentorship, and countless opportunities to grow not only as an ophthalmologist, but also as an educator, researcher, and leader. Serving as chief resident was a true honor and gave me the opportunity to give back to a program and community that had already given me so much. I am especially grateful that my training and mentorship at Weill Cornell prepared me to match into a competitive ASOPRS fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School. Most importantly, I left residency with lifelong colleagues, mentors, and friends. My entire graduating class felt incredibly fortunate to have trained at Weill Cornell. It was truly one of the great privileges of my life to be part of this program, and I will always be grateful for my time there and for the mentors who believed in me, guided me, and helped shape the physician and surgeon I am becoming. I will always look back on those years with tremendous gratitude and pride for the community that became such an important part of my life."

 

Gabriella Schmuter, MD (Chief Resident 2025-2026)

Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellow

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary | Harvard Medical School