Meet Dr. Sebag
As a vitreo-retinal specialist, I perform surgery and treat patients only with Vitreo-retinal diseases. At VMR Insitute (VMR stands for Vitreous Macula Retina) we regularly treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic retinopathy, vitreous floaters, macular holes, macular pucker, retinal detachments, and retinal vascular occlusions.
Vitreo-retinal specialists, like myself, are not only board certified ophthalmologists, but have also completed two additional years of fellowship training to allow us to specialize in the Vitreous, Macula and Retina.
My goal in founding the VMR Institute was to bring the latest diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to the local community in a private setting. I am very proud of the fact that with the help of our outstanding staff, VMR has become a leading center of excellence for pioneering diagnostics and therapies of diseases of the Vitreous, Macula and Retina.
As pioneers, we offer diagnostic testing and treatments not offered by others. As a center of excellence we have taught countless medical students and research fellows who have pursued their own leadership roles in our profession.VMR Institute has become a referral center where many other eye doctors compliment us by allowing us to care for their patients who have retinal problems.
On a personal note, I love boating, travel, and my wife. She enjoys ballroom dancing which we used to do together. Now she competes at Pro-Am events in the area, which I always try to attend since I love watching her dance.
I also love travel, in particular Europe, as I lived in Stockholm, Sweden (1973-75) and Paris, France (1983-84). As a result, I am fluent in Swedish and French.
Educated at Columbia & Harvard, Dr. Sebag is considered a world’s leading authority on vitreous. He has authored three books, as well as many articles, chapters and editorials on diseases, drug therapy, and surgery of the Vitreous, Macula, and Retina (VMR).
In addition to his role as full professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, Dr. Sebag has also been visiting professor around the world.
In private practice since 1986, he is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
In 2006, he was inducted into the prestigious American Ophthalmological Society.
In 2010, he was designated a fellow of ARVO, the world’s premier eye research organization.
For over three decades, Dr. Sebag has provided the highest level of eye care to the local community in a private setting. Dr. Sebag founded the VMR Institute in order to provide state-of-the-art diagnostics and therapeutics in eye health with compassion and care.
Specialty: Laser Therapy, Injections & Surgery of
Vitreous – Macula – Retina
Degrees: MD
Fellowships: American College of Surgeons (FACS),
Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK (FRCOphth), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (FARVO)
College: Columbia College, New York
Medical School: College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University
Internship: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/UCLA,
Los Angeles
Ophthalmology Residency: Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Mass.
Vitreo-Retinal Fellowship: Harvard Medical School, Boston Mass.
Board Certification: American Board of Ophthalmology
Special Expertise: World’s leading authority on Vitreous
Current Academic Appointments:
Senior Research Scientist, Doheny Eye Institute
Full Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCLA
Invited Lectures
2013 Plenary Lecture, Joint meeting of Japanese Retina and Vitreous Society (52nd meeting) and Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retinal Society (8th meeting), Nagoya, Japan
2013 Symposium Organizer, European Society of Ophthalmology, Copenhagen
2013 Invited Speaker, ARVO Mini-symposium, Seattle
2013 Invited Lecturer, 9th Annual Meeting, Swiss Vitreo-Retinal Group, Zurich
2012 Invited Speaker, University of Amsterdam
2012 Invited Speaker, EURETINA course on Vitreous, Milano
2011 Symposium Chair & Speaker, Combined Meeting of the European Society of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Geneva
2011 Invited Speaker, Vitreous Symposium, EURETINA, London, England
2010 Visiting Professor, Nagoya University, Japan
2010 Guest Speaker, Sydney Eye Hospital, University of Sydney, Australia
2009 Symposium Chair & Guest Speaker, 4th International Conference on Vitreo-Retinal Diseases, Vienna
2009 Symposium Chair & Speaker, European Society of Ophthalmology, Amsterdam
2009 LuEsther Mertz Retinal Research Lecture, Macula Foundation, Manhattan Eye, Ear, & Throat Hospital and New York University, New York, N.Y.
2008 Guest Lecturer, Festschrift honoring Professor Peter Kroll, Phillips University of Marburg, Germany
2007 Guest Lecturer, Centennial Symposium, Fondazione Bietti, Rome
2006 Guest Speaker, Symposium on Emerging Treatments in Vitreo-Retinal Surgery, World Ophthalmology Congress, Sao Paolo, Brasil
2005 Guest Speaker, AAO Retina Subspecialty Day Meeting, Chicago
2005 Guest Lecturer, University of Wisconsin, July 2005
2005 Guest Lecturer, Juntendo University, Urayasu, Japan
2004 Guest Lecturer, Italian Retina Society, Rome, Italy, November 2004
2004 Guest Speaker, European Vitreo-Retinal Society, Istanbul, Turkey, September
2004 Guest Lecturer,Fritz Koerner Festschrift, University of Bern, Switzerland
2003 Rapport de la Société Française d’Ophtalmologie, Paris, France
2001 Cambridge Ophthalmological Symposium, Cambridge, England
2001 Springer Lecturer, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
2001 Visiting Professor, Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
2000 Visiting Professor, Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai, P.R.C.
2000 Inaugural Iain Begg Lecturer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
1998 Visiting Professor, New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, New York, N.Y.
1997 Guest Lecturer, Japanese Retina and Vitreous Society, Asahikawa, Japan
1992 Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London, England
1992 Special Lecturer, Swiss Ophthalmological Society Meeting, Basel, Switzerland
1986 Cambridge Ophthalmological Symposium, Cambridge, England
Dr. Sebag is a Senior Research Scientist at the Doheny Eye Institute in Pasadena, and a full professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at UCLA. He has also been visiting professor at many institutions around the world.
Awards and Honors
2010 – Present Los Angeles Magazine “Southern California Super Doctors as Chosen by His Peers”
2010 Fellow, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO Silver Award)
2008 Career Award for Humanitarian Services to the Indigent and Uninsured, LHA, O.C.
2006 Humanitarian of the Year Award, Latino Health Access, Orange County, California
2004 Honorary Member, Fondazione G. B. Bietti per lo Studio e la Ricerca in Oftalmologia
2002 Honor Award, Vitreous Society
2000 National Registry of Who’s Who, Life Member (#86360)
1998 Humanitarian of the Year Award, Latino Health Access, Orange County, California
1994 Honor Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology
1986 The Treacher Collins Prize, Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom
1985 Knapp Fellowship, Heed Ophthalmic Foundation
1984 Frank B. Walsh, M.D. Award, World Meeting of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Belgium
1984 Lauréat de la Société Française d’Ophtalmologie- 1er Prix Biophysic Medical
1984 The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship
1983 The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship Award
1982 Harvard Medical School – Bicentennial Prize Essay Contest
1979 Edith & Denton McKane Award for Outstanding Research in Ophthalmology, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University
1979 Titus Munson Coan Prize For Excellence In Research, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University
1979 Doctor Alfred P. Steiner Research Award, Columbia University
1978 1st Prize, National Competition on Preventive Medicine, American Health Foundation
1977 AMA-ERF AMSA Award for Meritorious Research, American Federation of Clinical Research (AFCR) Annual Meeting, Carmel, CA
1973 Thord-Gray Fellowship, American-Scandinavian Foundation