Chennai, 15 September 2021: Dr. Ashvin Agarwal, Chief Clinical officer and Executive Director, Dr Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals, and Dr. Soosan Jacob, Director & Chief, Dr. Agarwal’s Refractive and Cornea Foundation, have been bestowed with the prestigious Secretariat Award 2021 of American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. The awards come as a recognition for their contributions to ophthalmology and ophthalmic education. 

 

Incorporated in 1979, American Academy of Ophthalmology is dedicated to advancing the profession of ophthalmology and leading ophthalmic education. It represents a global community of 32,000 medical doctors. 

 

Dr. Ashvin Agarwal, an MBBS and MS in Ophthalmology, Cataract expert handling complex cases, Glued iol, surgeries and cataract complication care. He performs high-end transplants, cataract, and refractive surgeries. In his 10+ years of service, Dr Ashvin Agarwal has performed over 20,000 surgeries. He performs high end cataract, refractive surgery and sophisticated corneal transplants, Dr Ashvin Agarwal is also the Chairman of the Clinical Board of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital. In this capacity, he takes strategic and administrative decisions with respect to the clinical quality of the hospitals that are present in over 95 locations across the world. 

 

Dr Soosan Jacob, MS, FRCS, DNB, MNAMS, has over 21 years of experience, specializing in refractive surgery, cutting edge keratoconus management, advanced corneal transplantations, complex anterior segment reconstructions, glaucoma and complex cataracts. She is also Senior Consultant of Cataract and Glaucoma Services at Dr. Agarwal’s Group of eye hospitals. She is well known and respected for her multiple innovations in Ophthalmology in the fields of cornea, cataract, glaucoma and keratoconus. Recently she was selected to the Power List – 2021, an annual list of Top 100 women ophthalmologists in the world and formed part of a roundtable of five of the most influential women Ophthalmologists internationally.

 

Congratulating the Secretariat Award winners, Prof Amar Agarwal, Chairman, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, said, “It is very special that two of our senior doctors have won Secretariat Awards in the same year. Both the doctors are senior, internationally acclaimed ophthalmologists who specialize in complex eye surgeries and have won numerous international awards previously.

 

Dr Ashvin Agarwal’s has recently bagged the Visionary Award at the American European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery. Dr Soosan Jacob is the recipient of several prestigious international awards including International Society of Refractive Surgery’s Kitzinger Memorial Award. We are proud and fortunate to have them as a part of the team. My best wishes for their success in their future endeavors in their profession.” 

In their comments the awardees Dr Ashvin Agarwal and Dr Soosan Jacob, said, “We are happy that a global body of the stature of American Association of Ophthalmology has chosen us for its coveted Secretariat Award for this year. We thank the leadership team and colleagues at Dr Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals for their support and encouragement in all our research, and academic activities. We derive our inspiration from the fact that our work helps protect sight and empowers lives of patients and the public. We will continue to innovate and to ensure the delivery of the highest-quality eye care for our patients.”

 

The Secretariat Awards are determined by secretaries and senior secretaries of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The Academy has acknowledged the recent contributions of the awardees to ophthalmic education. It is to be noted that Dr. Ashvin Agarwal serves as the Chair of the International Society of Refractive Surgery Webinar Task Force. Dr. Soosan Jacob is the Chair of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) Multimedia Editorial Board and Executive committee member of International Society of Refractive Surgery