Ambati Named Among Top 100 Most Influential People in Ophthalmology

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2016) – Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, professor of physiology and vice chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has been named to The Ophthalmologist Power List 2016 'Top 100 Most Influential People in the World of Ophthalmology.' This international list features the most influential and innovative individuals in the worlds of ophthalmic surgery, research and industry.

Ambati is an internationally recognized authority who has pioneered innovative concepts in macular degeneration, a blinding disease that affects nearly 200 million people worldwide. His lab has reported numerous seminal advances in top-tier scientific journals such as Nature, Cell, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The Journal of Clinical Investigation, elucidating the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and ocular angiogenesis. Ambati's prolific body of research also more broadly addresses central questions in vision science and retinal disease.

Ambati, who is the Dr. E. Vernon & Eloise C. Smith Endowed Chair in Macular Degeneration, has received numerous prestigious awards including the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award and  elected to The Association of American Physicians, The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and The American Association for the Advancement of Science. Recently, he became the first individual at UK to be inducted into The National Academy of Inventors. He also serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals including Ophthalmology, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, and Translational Vision & Science Technology. 

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Media Contact:  Ann Blackford at 859-323-6442 or ann.blackford@uky.edu