04/11/13
Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, chair of the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, UIC Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, has been invited to serve on the Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities of the Institute of Medicine.
Dr. Varma also serves as Associate Dean for Strategic Planning at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and holds the Illinois Lions/Charles I. Young Chair of Ophthalmological Research. He is a national and international leader in epidemiologic research of eye disease in minority children and adults. He is the principal investigator (PI) of three large National Institutes of Health-funded community based studies: Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Diseases Study (MEPEDS), and the Chinese American Eye Study. Dr. Varma served as PI on studies funded by the World Health Organization assessing the prevalence and socioeconomic burden of near vision impairment. He was a key contributor to the National Eye Institute’s recent update on vision research, Needs, Gaps and Opportunities in Vision Research, co-chairing the panel on Glaucoma and Optic Neuropathies.
The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, asks and answers the nation’s most pressing questions about health and health care. The Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities discusses and advises on issues related to the visibility of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care as a national problem and the development of programs and strategies to reduce disparities.
“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to join other leaders on the Roundtable to address racial and ethnic disparities with the hope of bringing high quality health care to everyone,” Dr. Varma said.
“The University of Illinois College of Medicine is extremely proud of Dr. Varma’s contributions to clinical science and public health,” said Dimitri Azar, MD, MBA, Dean of the College of Medicine.
The Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary is Chicago’s first and largest ophthalmology center, dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care and advancing ophthalmologic knowledge through cutting edge research and outstanding education.