Vicken Karageozian, M.D.
Dr. Vicken Karageozian was born in Pasadena, CA and raised in Laguna Hills. He graduated from the University of California San Diego in 1991. He received his Medical Degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. After his internship at the UCLA affiliate St. Mary's Medical Center he completed his Ophthalmology residency at the University of California Irvine in 2000. During residency, Dr. Karageozian's surgical and clinical skills earned him the position of Chief of Residents. Dr. Karageozian joined the practice of Drs. Blau and Kaplan in 2000 as a comprehensive ophthalmologist specializing in advanced surgical techniques. For many years, Dr. Karageozian has been heavily involved in eye research. His work in retinal diseases of the eye, including vitreous hemorrhage and diabetic retinopathy has been published in many peer review journals. Currently, Dr. Karageozian divides his time between surgery, his clinical practice and also the drug development efforts he has spearheaded. Personally, Dr. Karageozian is deeply involved with his immediate and extended family. He is also a computer buff and enjoys traveling. He and his wife Silva have three children.
Michael Kaplan, MD
Michael R. Kaplan, MD was born in Los Angeles. He attended medical school at UCLA, graduating in 1967. His internship was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and his residency was at the Washington National Eye Center in Washington D.C. After completing his residency he served as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Naval Reserves where he finished two years at the Beaufort Naval Hospital in So. Carolina. Dr.Kaplan returned to California in 1973 and joined Drs. Blau and Balding. Concurrently he became Chief of Ophthalmology at the Long Beach Veterans Hospital, formerly part of UCLA Jules Stein eye program and now part of UCI. He continues to participate one half day a week at the Long Beach Veterans Hospital. Dr. Kaplan began performing volunteer surgical missions in the third world in 1976. Since then he has volunteered for nearly twenty trips including Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Vietnam, the Phillipines, Borneo, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet and most recently Zambia. Dr. Kaplan enjoys skiing, mountain climbing (Mt. Whitmey, Long's Peak, the Himalayas) jogging and life at the beach.
Antoine Fahd, M.D., PhD
Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Antoine Fahd came to the United States in 1982. Dr. Fahd's journey in to the field of medicine is somewhat unique. His interest developed while pursuing his undergraduate education in electrical engineering at Bradley University in Illinois. During his studies, Dr. Fahd quickly realized a career in engineering would not fully satisfy his desire to help others and he began to investigate options to allow him to apply engineering science toward other fields. He saw a natural link between engineering and medical surgery, both requiring a great degree of discipline, skill and focus. Dr. Fahd attained a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. His research interests were in the area of electromagnetic fields and lasers. He attended medical school at Medical College of Georgia and graduated in the top of his class. He was elected to the Alpha Omega Aplha national medical honor society. His ophthalmology residency was completed at the University of California Irvine. During residency Dr. Fahd distinguished himself throught his surgical and clinical skills. Subsequently, Dr. Fahd completed a refractive surgery fellowship and has performed over 60,000 refractive procedures(LASIK, PRK and Wavefront LASIK). Dr. Fahd spends his free time with his wife and two sons. They enjoy short trips, kayaking, water sports and cooking. In addition,Dr. Fahd stays in close contact with his extended family.
Robert Blau, M.D.
Born in Toronto Canada,Robert Blau,M.D. moved to Gary, Indiana in 1940 and became a US citizen in 1945. He attended Indiana University in 1951. During his summer vacations he worked in the steel mills of Gary to pay for his schooling. He attended Indiana University Medical School, graduating in 1958. He interned at Indianapolis General Hospital and then chose to specialize in Ophthalmology receiving his training at Baylor Medical School in Houston. He was the first Ophthalmologist to open a private practice in Huntington Beach in 1961. Currently, he enjoys working with Clarity Eye Group. Dr. Blau's personal interests are horse racing, the arts, swimming, reading and spending time with his family. He is married with 3 children and 6 grandchildren.
Patricia Uyekawa, O.D.
Dr. Patricia Uyekawa is a native and third generation Californian, was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1972 Dr. Uyekawa was among the first group of women to attend Yale University. She also attended U.C. Berkeley as a State Scholar and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiological Optics. She received her Doctor of Optometry degree from U.C. Berkeley where she graduated top of her class in 1979. At graduation she received the American Optometric Foundation Irving M. Borish Award for excellence in contact lens research and her doctoral thesis was read before the American Academy of Physiological Optics. Dr. Uyekawa has been practicing Optometry in Orange County since 1987. She enjoys working with her patients and takes pride in delivering personalized care in contact lenses, geriatrics and primary eye care. Her greatest achievement and joy has been raising her daughter Melissa. She has many other interests including theater, reading, cooking, travel and scrapbooking family memories.