David A. Eichenbaum, MD, Elected as President of Florida Society of Ophthalmology
Drs. Goldhardt, Srur, Correa, Bovee, and Mahootchi Round Out Executive Leadership Team

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – (June 12, 2023) – Vitreous and Retina disease specialist David A. Eichenbaum, MD was installed as president of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO). Elections were held during the Annual Business Meeting for the FSO which took place on Saturday, June 10 in Orlando.

As president, Dr. Eichenbaum will guide the nonprofit association, which represents more than 500 medical doctors focused on preserving the medical and surgical specialty of ophthalmology. In addition to active participation in legislative advocacy and the dissemination of responsible information to physicians and patients throughout the state, the FSO also provides continuing medical education opportunities and humanitarian work through its foundation.

Dr. Eichenbaum is a board-certified ophthalmologist, fellowship-trained in diseases and surgery of the vitreous and retina. He has been practicing in Tampa Bay since 2007 and was born in St. Petersburg. He completed the Medical Honors Program, earning both his undergraduate and medical degree at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and completed his Ophthalmology residency at the University of South Florida where he served as Chief Resident. Dr. Eichenbaum completed his two-year Surgical Retina fellowship at Tufts New England Eye Center and Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston.

Dr. Eichenbaum serves as Director of Research for Retina Vitreous Associates and has been Principal Investigator in over 70 early- to late-stage clinical trials studying common retinal diseases such as dry and wet macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and retinal vascular disease. Dr. Eichenbaum has published over 50 articles in professional journals, has authored multiple textbook chapters and continues to passionately contribute to the current retinal literature. He presents data internationally and is a regular abstract presenter at the American Society of Retinal Specialists, American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology, and at the prestigious invitational Retina Society meeting. Dr. Eichenbaum serves on numerous Clinical and Scientific Advisory Boards and National Steering Committees for clinical research. Under Dr. Eichenbaum’s direction, Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida has been recognized nationally as a cutting-edge research site for the advancement of the retinal specialty.

In addition, Dr. Eichenbaum is co-founder and co-Chief Medical Officer of Network Eye, a first-of-its-kind specialty care business, delivering top-quality care in convenient retail and mobile locations. Network Eye has launched its new retail clinic model to make retina care more accessible for people living with diabetes and macular degeneration, empowering all patients on a path to healthier eyes and a better quality of life. Under Dr. Eichenbaum’s clinical leadership, Network Eye has initially partnered with CVS Health to bring this new model to the Tampa market, with the goal of expanding retina clinics across the US.

Dr. Eichenbaum is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, sits on the Board of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology, serves as Chair of the Retina Sub-Specialty section for the Florida Society Masters Meeting, and has served as Past President of the Tampa Bay Ophthalmic Society. Dr. Eichenbaum received the American Society of Retina Specialists Senior Honor Award in 2023, Alumnus of the Year Recipient, Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida Department of Ophthalmology, 2022, earned Fellow of the American Society of Retina Specialists designation in 2021, and received the Michael R. Redmond, MD Outstanding Young Ophthalmologist Award from the Florida Society of Ophthalmology in 2015.

Dr. Eichenbaum serves as a Collaborative Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida and has held an academic affiliation with USF since 2007. Dr. Eichenbaum co-chairs a monthly retina conference for the residency with Dr. Cohen. He performs surgery at Northside Hospital and All Children's Hospitals as well as Bardmoor Surgery Center.

The FSO also announced The FSO also announced the elections of Raquel Goldhardt, MD as president-elect, Zelia M. Correa, MD, as vice president of advocacy, Courtney Bovee, MD, as vice president of education, and Ahad Mahootchi, MD, as vice president of outreach and Lana Srur, MD, as secretary/treasurer. 

Joseph T. Nezgoda, MD, MBA who preceded Dr. Eichenbaum as president, will assume the role of immediate past president, and Javier Perez, MD, will transition into the role of past president.

Raquel Goldhardt, MD, FACS was installed as the president-elect of the FSO at the Annual Business Meeting held at the Masters in Ophthalmology 2023 meeting on Saturday, June 10.

As a cataract surgeon, medical retina, and uveitis specialist, Dr. Goldhardt has extensive surgical and clinical experience in the management of complicated cataract surgery, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, retinal pathologies including macular degeneration, vein occlusions, and diabetic retinopathy.  Her research focuses on novel imaging techniques for macular degeneration, Stargardt’s disease, corneal nerves analysis in patients receiving anti-VEGF injections, the investigation of quality-of-life following cataract extraction in AMD patients, ocular manifestations, and biomarkers of Gulf War illness, and was the first to describe posterior subhyaloid precipitates in patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis. Dr. Goldhardt is committed to fostering a culture of belonging and opportunity for all. She serves as the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute champion for inclusion and diversity and has played an active role in the admission and executive committees for the University of Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami for many years. Dr. Goldhardt has been invited to lecture all over the world and has been a key figure in national and international physician education.  Her commitment and passion for medicine inevitably drove her to get involved in several mission trips and health fairs vision screenings throughout Florida. She has led mission trips to underserved areas in China and South America (eg. Darwin Project in the Galapagos) and surgical mission trips to Mexico and is the co-director of the International Physician Global Outreach at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute since 2019. She is the Associate Director of International and Community Service as well as the Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from 2019.

In 2017 she was the President of the Miami Ophthalmological Society, and she has been serving on the Board of Directors at the FSO since 2020. First as Vice-president of Outreach, then as Vice-President of Education. She has been making significant contributions to our community through her time, talent, and dedication.

Zelia M. Correa, MD, PhD was installed as the vice president of advocacy of the FSO at the Annual Business Meeting held during the Masters in Ophthalmology 2023 meeting on Saturday, June 10.  

Dr. Correa is a Professor of Ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, and the Director of Ocular Oncology and Echography at the same institution. Dr. Correa specializes in ocular oncology and vitreoretinal surgery. Prior to her current position at Bascom Palmer, she was the Tom Clancy Chair of Ophthalmology (2008-2020) and the Mary Knight Asbury Endowed Chair of Ocular Oncology and Ocular Pathology (2006-2007). She is involved with professional organizations such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO), Women in Retina, and the Maryland Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (MSEPS). During her term with MSEPS, she served as Scientific Chair (2019-2021) and Program Chair for the State Society Annual Meeting in 2021.

Throughout her career, Dr. Correa has been recognized for her clinical expertise, academics, and leadership. More recently she received the Senior Achievement Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Benjamin Boyd Humanitarian Award and the Ambassador for Education by the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology. She also serves on the Editorial Board of JAMA ophthalmology, TVST, Brazilian Archives of Ophthalmology (Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia), EyeNet magazine, and Retina Times.

Dr. Correa’s focus is on clinical and translational research in uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma.

Courtney Bovee, MD was installed as the vice president of education of the FSO at the Annual Business Meeting held at the Masters in Ophthalmology 2023 meeting on Saturday, June 10.

Dr. Courtney E. Bovee is a Harvard fellowship trained glaucoma specialist and cataract surgeon in Tampa Bay, Florida. She received her medical degree from the University of South Florida and completed her Residency at UCLA and Eastern Virginia Medical School. She is actively involved in education, medical device and pharmaceutical development and clinical research. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Bovee is a leader in organized medicine in numerous local, state, and national societies. 

Dr. Bovee has been honored by "The Ophthalmologist" as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology by being selected to be on the Power 2022 List. She was awarded the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology Richard and Ruthanne Simmons Fellowship Award. As a medical student she was awarded the prestigious AMA Foundation's Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award. Other notable awards include the American Business Journal's Rising Star Award, The Michael R. Redmond Outstanding Young Ophthalmologist Award, the Kenneth Tuck Advocacy Award, The Orlando Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Award, the American Business Influencers Award, University of Florida's 40 Under 40 Award, and the New England Society of Ophthalmology Clinical Research Award.  

Ahad Mahootchi, MD, was installed as the vice president of outreach of FSO at the Annual Business Meeting held at the Masters in Ophthalmology 2023 meeting on Saturday, June 10.

Dr. Mahootchi is in private practice for the last 26 years in the Tampa Bay area. He trained at Vanderbilt University for medical school and residency. He founded The Eye Clinic of Florida in Zephyrhills and has been active in FSO for the last several years.

Lana Srur, MD was installed as the secretary/treasurer of the FSO at the Annual Business Meeting held at the Masters in Ophthalmology 2023 meeting on Saturday, June 10.

Dr. Srur is a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in refractive cataract surgery and corneal disease. She earned both her undergraduate and medical degree at the University of Florida and completed her Ophthalmology residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, where she also served as Chief Resident. Dr. Srur then completed her Cornea and External Disease fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She has been an Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami since 2008, where she dedicates most of her time to providing top-quality patient care, as well as teaching residents and medical students core principles of cataract surgery. Dr. Srur is involved in numerous research projects and has published multiple book chapters and published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Srur is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and is involved with multiple organizations including the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery as well as the Cornea Society. She also served on the board of the Miami Ophthalmological Society for several years, most recently as President.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA SOCIETY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY (FSO)

The Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) has a rich history of serving patients since its founding in 1939 as the Florida Society of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Today, the organization represents more than 500 physician members throughout the state and is focused on advancing patient care and protecting the medical specialty of ophthalmology. For more information, please visit the FSO website at www.mdeye.org.

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