James Hill, MD, JD
Founder
Dr. Hill is a physician, medical researcher, and partner in the law firm of FisherBroyles LLP.
A graduate of the University of Southern California School of Medicine and Boston University Law School, he received residency training in internal medicine at Huntington Hospital and in radiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Hill completed coursework in the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering program at USC with an emphasis in signal and image processing.
Long interested in ophthalmology and molecular biology, he performed vitreoretinal research in medical school under then USC ophthalmology department chair Stephen J. Ryan, MD.
Dr. Hill is a cofounder of Highpoint Therapeutics, later acquired by Hillstream BioPharma, an oncology startup focused on killing cancer stem cells with nanoencapsulated drugs.
He has served on the scientific board of advisors for several life science companies.
Shawn Moaddeb
Director
Mr. Moaddeb has extensive experience with both startups and large organizations including Johnson & Johnson and St. Jude Medical.
He has cofounded and been a CEO and board member for multiple medical device companies and has led several through successful exits, including EP Dynamics, Lavita Technologies, Renal Dynamics, Vessix Vascular, Ellipse Technologies, Savona Therapeutics, and Oncogenics Guidance Systems.
He has raised multiple rounds of funding from leading VC’s and institutional investors for various startups.
A biomedical engineer, Mr. Moaddeb is a named inventor on over 100 issued and pending patent applications in the areas of RF catheter based renal denervation, percutaneous mitral valve catheter-based therapy, electrophysiology and cardiac ablation systems, medical laser systems, cardiovascular gene therapy, GI, and implantable pacemaker and defibrillator devices.
Hossein Ameri, MD, PhD, FRCSI
Scientific advisor
Dr. Ameri is Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and director of the University of Southern California Retinal Degeneration Center.
He received his Ophthalmology and Vitreoretinal Surgery training in Ireland, earning FRCSI from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and MRCOphth from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in London.
Dr. Ameri completed his internship in general surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and moved to Texas for ophthalmology residency training at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
During his ophthalmology residency, he earned a PhD in neuroscience at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Dr. Ameri obtained additional fellowship training in vitreoretinal surgery at USC Gayle and Edward Roski Eye Institute.
He was involved in preclinical studies of Argus II and the development of wide-field retinal prostheses. In addition, he produced quality research on retinal vascular disease, retinal angiogenesis, and ocular ultrasound.
Brian Boxer Wachler, MD
Scientific advisor
Dr. Boxer Wachler is director of the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills and founding president of Advanced Vision Research, a nonprofit organization.
He was director of the UCLA Laser Refractive Center at the Jules Stein Eye Institute for many years and is on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Playing a key role in the field of vision correction, Dr. Boxer Wachler’s work has changed the way surgeons perform LASIK and other vision correction procedures.
He is widely published, with 22 books and more than 55 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of cataract surgery, refractive procedures including LASIK, and treatment of corneal diseases including keratoconus.
Dr. Boxer Wachler pioneered the Holcomb C3-R® collagen crosslinking procedure to save keratoconus patients from cornea transplants.
He obtained his MD from Dartmouth Medical School. After his ophthalmology residency at Saint Louis University Eye Institute, he performed a fellowship in refractive and corneal surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Hunkeler Eye Center.
James Hiatt, MD
Scientific advisor
Dr. James Andrew “Drew” Hiatt earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine before doing a transitional year internship at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, and returning to the University of Kansas for his ophthalmology residency.
He then completed a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at the prestigious Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills.
In 2004, Dr. Hiatt joined Swagel Wootton Eye Center in Mesa, Arizona, becoming a partner one year later and eventually purchasing the entire practice.
For 13 years, he grew Swagel Wootton Hiatt Eye Center to be one of the most productive general ophthalmology practices in Arizona before selling the business to private equity in 2017.
Since his successful exit from the practice of ophthalmology in 2018, Dr. Hiatt has pursued a number of entrepreneurial ventures, including consulting for colleagues in the management, efficiency, and sale of their practices.
Simon Kaja, PhD
Scientific advisor
Dr. Kaja is an expert in ocular pharmacology with more than fifteen years' experience in the academic, biotech, and pharmaceutical settings.
He is the Dr. John P. and Therese E. Mulcahy Endowed Professor in Ophthalmology, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Director of the Visual Neurobiology and Signal Transduction Laboratory, and Director of the Kaja Lab for Ocular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery, all at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Dr. Kaja is a principal of K&P Scientific LLC and Ocular Drug Discovery Services and cofounder and scientific advisor to biotech startup eyeNOS, Inc.
He has a PhD in Medicine/Neuroscience and a BS in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and has published 50+ peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, delivered 25+ invited lectures nationally and internationally, and contributed 100+ conference abstracts and papers.