Current Members
OPTIC Team
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Read More about Lama Al-Aswad, MD, MPH
Lama Al-Aswad, MD, MPH
Professor of Ophthalmology
lama.al-aswad@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Physician Profile
Dr. Lama A. Al‑Aswad is the Irene Heinz Given and John LaPorte Given Research Professor of Ophthalmology at the Scheie Eye Institute with a secondary appointment in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She serves as the Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Director of Teleophthalmology, AI, and Innovations, Chair of the Glaucoma Imaging Group on the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Imaging, and most recently is the chair elect of the Medical Faculty Senate Steering Committee. A board‑certified glaucoma specialist, she has held national leadership roles, including past president of the NY Glaucoma Society and Women in Ophthalmology, and a voting member of the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel.
Dr. Al-Aswad's research focuses on blindness prevention, tele‑ophthalmology, artificial intelligence, and healthcare innovation. She has led major population‑health initiatives, including large‑scale glaucoma screening programs, a mobile tele‑ophthalmology unit for detecting leading causes of blindness, and an Epic‑integrated vision‑testing app developed during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
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Read More about Alan Dogan, MD, MSAlan Dogan, MD, MS
Ophthalmology Innovation Fellow (Class of 2027)
Email Alan Dogan, MD, MS
Alan Dogan, MD, MS Website
Alan Dogan, MD, MS
Ophthalmology Innovation Fellow (Class of 2027)
alan.dogan@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Alan Dogan, MD, MS Website
Alan Dogan is a physician and biomedical engineer who earned his MD from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and his BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. His work centres on translational healthcare technologies, clinical research and medical device innovation — with experience spanning ophthalmic imaging, respiratory monitoring and drug delivery. He has contributed to early-stage clinical studies, device development and interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at bringing practical healthcare innovations closer to patients. He also serves as a medical advisor for Tiny Cargo Company and Scientific Officer for Recens Respiratio.
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Read More about Isabelle Deng
Isabelle Deng
Lab Manager / Clinical Research Coordinator
isabelle.deng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Isabelle Deng Website
Isabelle is the Lab Manager and Clinical Research Coordinator for the OPTIC Lab. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Biostatistics and Sociology from Cornell University in 2024, where she conducted statistical genetics research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to joining the OPTIC lab, she worked as a Data Science Project Manager at Epic Systems, where she led data engineering, predictive analytics, and enterprise-level healthcare digital infrastructure projects.
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Read More about Andrea McCord, MPHAndrea McCord, MPH
Scheie Teleophthalmology Mobile Unit Manager
Email Andrea McCord, MPH
215-439-6631
Andrea McCord, MPH
Scheie Teleophthalmology Mobile Unit Manager
andrea.mccord@penmedicine.upenn.edu
215-439-6631
Andrea is the Scheie in MOTION Manager. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Temple University and Master of Public Health with a concentration in Community Health and Prevention from Drexel University. She has worked in public health research and community health programming such as HIV prevention and breast and cervical cancer screening for ten years. Working with Scheie in Motion and the OPTIC lab is giving her a blend of her love of direct service to the community and contributing to the research knowledge base that will hopefully lead to better services for clients.
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Read More about Jeremiah Anandarajah
Jeremiah Anandarajah
Research Assistant
Jeremiah.Anandarajah@PennMedicine.Upenn.Edu
Jeremiah Anandarajah Website
Jeremiah is a research assistant in the OPTIC Lab. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology from the University of Rochester in 2025. During his time there, he performed research on thyroid eye disease at the Flaum Eye Institute and worked in a biomechanics motion analysis lab. Jeremiah is also currently working as an ophthalmic scribe at the Scheie Eye Institute.
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Dalal Ahmidouch
Research Assistant
Dalal Ahmidouch
Research Assistant
