Diagnosing Geographic Atrophy and the Importance of Timely Referrals

Dr. Mohammad Rafieetary is a consultative optometric physician who has been in practice at the Charles Retina Institute (CRI) since 1996. Dr. Rafieetary is a graduate of Boston University and received his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

He completed a residency in primary care optometry and ocular disease at the Southern College of Optometry (SCO) and the Memphis Health Center. Upon completion of his residency in 1989, Dr. Rafieetary joined SCO’s faculty and served as an associate professor and the Chief of Advanced Ocular Disease Service at the Southern College of Optometry until he joined CRI.

Dr. Rafieetary has received several awards, including the SCO Faculty of the Year, the American Diabetic Association’s National Achievement of Distinction Award, and the Tennessee Associations of Optometric Physician’s Optometrist of the Year. He has served on the board of several professional organizations, such as the Church Health Center and the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Rafieetary is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Optometric Retina Society. He is board-certified by the American Board of Optometry as well as the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry.

Dr. Rafieetary is published in numerous professional publications and lectures extensively on the subject of diseases of the eye with emphasis on conditions of the retina and vitreous.

Dr. Julie Rodman received her optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry, after which she went on to complete a residency in hospital-based optometry at the VAMC Brockton/West Roxbury, MA. Since completing her residency, Dr. Rodman has worked in various settings, including an ophthalmology private practice and an HMO-based practice. In 2014, Dr. Rodman received her Masters of Science in Clinical Vision Research from Nova Southeastern University. In February 2008, Dr. Rodman joined the Nova Southeastern faculty on a full-time basis as an Assistant Professor of Optometry and now holds the rank of Professor of Optometry.

Dr. Rodman has taught in the Optometry Theory and Methods Laboratory and currently serves as the Chief of the Broward Eye Care Institute in downtown Fort Lauderdale. She has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Clinical Precepting, and Preceptor of the Year. She has been recognized as Primary Care Optometry’s “Top 300 Innovators in Optometry”.

Dr. Rodman has authored multiple posters at the American Academy of Optometry, American Optometric Association, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Southeast Conference of Optometry (SECO), and Heart of America on various ocular disease topics. She became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 2007. She serves as a poster reviewer for the multi-media session at SECO and is a reviewer for multiple index medicus journals as well. Dr. Rodman is a member of the American Optometric Association, Florida Optometric Association and Optometric Retina Society. Dr. Rodman also sits on the Optovue Advisory Board where she serves as a lecturer and consultant. She holds her Oral Pharmaceuticals Certification and is Laser Certified as well. Her scholarly interests include retinal disease, optical coherence tomography, optical coherence tomography angiography and diseases of the vitreo-retinal interface. She was the principal investigator on a multi-center, nationwide investigation into the prevalence of Vitreomacular Adhesion in Patients 40 Years of Age and Older. She is also the author of a textbook titled “Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Case Study Approach.”