When it comes to maintaining clear vision, your retina is the key to properly interpreting light and communicating what you see to your brain.
Cincinnati Eye Institute recently welcomed Basil K. Williams, Jr., M.D., and Gian Paolo Giuliari, M.D., two ophthalmologists expertly trained to be on the lookout for and treat the many maladies that can befall your retina and impair your clear vision.
Williams, who grew up in the Bronx in New York City, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, attended The Chicago Medical School, and completed his ophthalmology residency, vitreoretinal surgery fellowship and chief residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He also completed his ocular oncology fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
“I do mostly retinal work, which includes retinal surgery and treating medical retinal diseases like diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and epiretinal membranes,” Williams explains. “Sometimes it’s trauma-related issues.”
Williams was born in Granada, and his interest in ophthalmology was sparked after he came to the United States when he was
school-age.
“I wore big glasses and had a thick Caribbean accent, and kids used to make fun of a me a little bit in New York when I first got there. So, I decided I was going to cure all eye problems so no one would have to deal with that kind of thing again. But as I got older, I realized that wasn’t possible,” Williams recalls with a warm chuckle.
He decided to work for an ophthalmologist to earn money while he applied for jobs in the field of finance. But one look at retinal surgery and he was hooked.
“I fell in love with retinal oncology,” he says. “When I worked as a technician, I saw the relationship between the physicians and their patients, and I saw the opportunity for making an impact on people’s lives in a practical sense. As an ophthalmologist, you see things like diabetic retinopathy, but at the same time you have an opportunity to talk to patients about their overall health and lifestyle. You build a strong relationship. You become part of the family. The opportunity to have a positive interaction and a positive impact on patients in that manner resonated with me. It’s the interaction with my patients that I enjoy the most.”
Giuliari, born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, earned his medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and completed his ophthalmology residency at the Dr. Elias Santana Hospital, which is affiliated with the Pedro Henríquez Ureña University in the Dominican Republic.
After he completed his initial residency, Giuliari decided to pursue subspecialty training at the Valley Retina Institute in McAllen, Texas, where he enrolled in a comprehensive two-year training program focused on the diagnosis and management of diseases of the retina and vitreous. Following completion of his retina fellowship, he wanted to learn more about ocular inflammatory diseases at the Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution, where he completed a one-year ocular immunology and uveitis fellowship. Next, he studied ocular oncology and pathology at the University of Toronto, Ontario.
Then it was back to Venezuela, where Giuliari worked in a private clinic and the public/academic sector as an assistant professor at Domingo Luciani Hospital. He later returned to the United States, where he completed a second ophthalmology residency at
Indiana University.
“I always wanted to be a doctor,” says Giuliari, whose work with a retina specialist in Venezuela inspired him to focus on ophthalmology. “The minute I saw retina surgery, I knew I wanted to do that.”
CEI is a fantastic organization, Giuliari concludes.
“What I enjoy the most about CEI is the camaraderie among the physicians,” he says. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Cincinnati Eye Institute is located at 1945 CEI Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45242. For more information, visit www.cincinnatieye.com