Our Team
Dr. David R.P. Almeida
Dr. David R.P. Almeida
Dr. David R.P. Almeida
Dr. David R.P. Almeida, MD, MBA, PhD, FRCSC, DABO, serves as Executive Chairman of Erie Retina Research. A distinguished vitreoretinal surgeon and healthcare innovator, he has transformed Erie Retina Research into a leading clinical research organization in ophthalmology. He manages over 52 active trials across nine international sites w
Dr. David R.P. Almeida, MD, MBA, PhD, FRCSC, DABO, serves as Executive Chairman of Erie Retina Research. A distinguished vitreoretinal surgeon and healthcare innovator, he has transformed Erie Retina Research into a leading clinical research organization in ophthalmology. He manages over 52 active trials across nine international sites with a perfect FDA audit success rate.
As the founder of The Centers for Advanced Surgical Exploration (CASEx) and READ AI Digital, David leads a revolutionary healthcare platform with tremendous year-over-year growth. His innovative AI-powered clinical trial platform has demonstrated consistent success in reducing trial timelines by 40% while generating over $100M in savings per drug development cycle. Dr Almeida has managed over 10o clinical trials as principal investigator and is internationally recognized as a thought leader in ophthalmology, with over 300 peer-reviewed publications and more than 125 conference presentations. His achievements have been recognized with numerous awards, including the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and inclusion in The Ophthalmologist Power List Top 50 Rising Stars in Ophthalmology.
David's academic credentials include an Honors Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, a PhD in pharmaceutical research from the University of Szeged (graduated Summa cum Laude), and an MBA in healthcare management from The George Washington University. His clinical training includes medical school and an ophthalmology residency at Queen's University, followed by a vitreoretinal diseases and surgery fellowship at the University of Iowa.
A prolific researcher and innovator, David has spearheaded the development of several successful ventures, including CLINOMICS.ai and PAX IMPACT SOLUTIONS. His strategic partnerships with major institutions like Stanford University and The Centers for Advanced Surgical Exploration (CASExGLOBAL) demonstrate his ability to build and scale healthcare enterprises.
Beyond his corporate leadership, David’s unique combination of clinical expertise, research acumen, and business insight positions him ideally to lead the continued growth and innovation in AI-powered healthcare & clinical research delivery.
Dr. Vinit B. Mahajan
Dr. David R.P. Almeida
Dr. David R.P. Almeida
Dr. Mahajan is a Professor and vitreoretinal surgeon and scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. He directs the NIH-funded Molecular Surgery and Omics Laboratory that uses high-throughput methods in genomics, proteomics, and phenomics to identify molecules involved in vitreoretinal disease.
His research team
Dr. Mahajan is a Professor and vitreoretinal surgeon and scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. He directs the NIH-funded Molecular Surgery and Omics Laboratory that uses high-throughput methods in genomics, proteomics, and phenomics to identify molecules involved in vitreoretinal disease.
His research team discovered the first gene to cause non syndromic uveitis and is now using protein crystallography to design therapeutic inhibitors for calpain-5. Mahajan and his team performed the first CRISPR gene editing therapy for eye disease in human stem cells. They have also created in vivo models for diabetic retinopathy and uveitis.
Using translational proteomics, Mahajan’s multidisciplinary team is developing new precision health approaches using molecular biomarkers to diagnose retinal disease, select personalized therapies, and decode the anatomic structures of the human eye.
Dr. Mahajan has trained numerous surgical fellows that now operate around the world. He has developed enhanced surgeries for complex cases of retinal detachment, macular hole, macular edema, diabetes, macular degeneration, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, optic maculopathy, uveitis, and others. He has identified safer approaches for vitreoretinal surgery in children and adults, and provides second opinions for complex cases. Dr. Mahajan is among only a handful of surgeons to perform human gene therapy for retinal disease. He has published new surgical biomarker studies that are the first to use personalized proteomics to precisely diagnose and treat otherwise problematic retinal diseases.
Dr. Mahajan earned his bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He then entered the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California, Irvine. Upon completion, he joined the residency program at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA he completed post doctoral laboratory research as an EyeSTAR Fellow. He next specialized in vitreoretinal diseases and surgery at the University of Iowa’s Retina Fellowship Program and joined as faculty in 2008. He joined Stanford University in 2017.