Board-certified ophthalmologist and strategic advisor in drug & device development. I write, speak, and advise on what AI actually changes in eye care — in the clinic, in the data, and in the development pipeline.
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I've spent my career at an unusual intersection — seeing patients as a practicing ophthalmologist while leading clinical development inside industry. I earned my MD at Vanderbilt, trained in ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine, and later added an MBA from MIT Sloan. As a strategist in Clinical Development working with multiple large pharmaceutical companies, I lived the other half of the equation: how a promising therapy actually navigates the development pathway. That vantage point shapes everything I write about AI — the algorithm is only half the product. The other half is the clinic it has to live in and the pipeline it has to survive.
Today I co-edit the A.I. in Eye Care eJournal (Jobson/WebMD) alongside Dr. Scot Morris and host the AI in Eye Care podcast — tracking oculomics, autonomous screening, smart glasses, and the business of bringing intelligent tools into eye care. I also co-founded Eyelomics and Muse AI, advise med-tech startups including Blink by Globe Biomedical, teach as Adjunct Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern, and serve as AI consultant to the Texas Medical Association's Health Information Technology Committee.
Co-Editor of the weekly publication keeping ophthalmologists and optometrists current on AI — original columns, news analysis, tools, and education.
Conversations with the clinicians, founders, and researchers building AI's future in eye care.
Advising med-tech startups and industry on bridging the gap between promising algorithms and products that succeed in real clinics and real regulatory pathways.
Practicing ophthalmologist — cataract and refractive surgery, MIGS, and medical retina.
An independent medical practice with multiple offices located throughout the state of Texas.
The retina as a window on systemic health — where oculomics meets clinical practice.
Blink by Globe Biomedical — an AI-based ocular healthcare platform.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Expert consultant on augmented and artificial intelligence to the Committee on Health Information Technology.
Global Clinical Development and Operations, 2021–2023.
MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine · Ophthalmology residency, Baylor College of Medicine · MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management · BA in Philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago. Recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and the Donald Gass Award in Ophthalmology; author of peer-reviewed publications including work on diabetic retinopathy screening.
I write a monthly column on where AI actually meets the clinic — practical, skeptical, and grounded in real practice. The five most recent:
Why the most important work in AI and eye care is the kind you'll never see finished.
AI is splitting the exam into pieces. When the parts leave the room, who owns the patient?
The most valuable AI skill for clinicians isn't prompting — it's knowing how to push back.
A working clinician's system for keeping up with a field that moves every week.
The unfiltered takeaways from the SWITCH meeting — what mattered, minus the hype.
Read all sixteen columns — plus every podcast episode and video →
I speak to clinical audiences, industry teams, and investor groups on AI in eye care — grounded in practice, not hype. Signature topics: oculomics and the retina as a window on systemic disease; the real economics of autonomous screening; and why the AI is only half the product.
"Dr. Ahmed has become a pioneer in artificial intelligence applications within eye care." — CataractCoach, Podcast #144 with Uday Devgan, MD (Dec 2025)
Presented on augmented intelligence at TMA's Business of Medicine Conference (San Antonio); featured in Texas Medicine.
Faculty for "The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Practical Applications in Eye Care Today" — presented on the augmentation of clinical care (Las Vegas).
Faculty for "The AI Revolution: Navigating the Future" — charting the next five years of AI in clinical eye care (Las Vegas).
Invited faculty for the virtual workshop "Finding Purpose & Navigating Challenges Beyond Ophthalmology," on career and mindset for early-career physicians (Jan 2024).
"Genuine Curiosity" — with host Naji Gehchan, on curiosity-driven leadership across medicine and entrepreneurship.
"Quick Takes From Ophthalmology Start-Ups" — on Blink by Globe Biomedical.
"Strategies for Building a Portfolio Career: Balancing Ophthalmology and Entrepreneurship."
Coverage of "The AI Revolution" at Vision Expo West, naming me on "The Augmentation of Clinical Care."
