MERIT is supported by a team of Scientific Advisors who provide guidance and expertise on strategic direction and industry market trends to inform and advance our research.
Scientific Advisory Board
Ophthalmology
Karl G. Csaky, MD, PhD
Dr. Csaky is the T. Boone Pickens Director of the Clinical Center of Innovation for Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer of the Retina Foundation of the Southwest. His main area of interest is studying both clinical research and drug delivery development as it pertains to retinal diseases. Dr. Csaky is a member of the Macula Society, Retina Society, AAO, ARVO, American Ophthalmologic Society, and the American Society of Retinal Specialists.
Dr. Csaky completed a retina fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. His internship was in medicine at Duke University, his ophthalmology residency at Washington University, and he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Essen Eye Clinic, Essen, Germany. Dr. Csaky received his combined MD/PhD degree from the University of Louisville and has over 140 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
Paul M. Karpecki, OD, FAAO
Dr. Karpecki currently serves as Director of Cornea and External Disease for the Kentucky Eye Institute in Lexington, KY. He is also the Chief Clinical Editor for Review of Optometry and Medical Director for KEPLR Vision. Dr. Karpecki was appointed to the Delphi International Society at Wilmer Johns Hopkins, which included the top 25 dry eye experts in the world, and co-chair for the previous two Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society Symposia. He served on the DEWS II Diagnostic Methodology Committee. Dr. Karpecki is also an Associate Professor at the Kentucky College of Optometry at the University of Pikeville and serves on the board of the charitable organization Optometry Giving Sight.
Dr. Karpecki received his Doctor of Optometry degree from Indiana University and completed a Durrie Fellowship in Medical Cornea/Refractive Surgery in Kansas City in affiliation with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
Jai G. Parekh, MD, MBA, FAAO
Dr. Parekh is a dual-trained internist and board-certified ophthalmic surgeon with experience and expertise in clinical and academic practice, pharmaceutical and medical device technology, medical affairs and R&D, and clinical development. He is the EVP/Chief Innovation Officer at EyeCheq. Previously, he was the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Eye Care at Allergan. Dr. Parekh is Chief, Cornea and External Diseases, and Medical Director of the Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Health in NJ. He is a member of the Board of Trustees, the Foundation Board, and the Executive Committee at the healthcare system.
Dr. Parekh has also co-founded three prestigious societies in eye care: American-European College of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS), CEDAR/ASPENS Society (CAS), and Vanguard Ophthalmology Society (VOS). He is Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology in the Icahn School of Medicine at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, NY. Dr. Parekh holds an MD from Boston University School of Medicine and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Oncology
Suzie Bash, MD
Dr. Bash is the Medical Director of Neuroradiology at San Fernando Valley Interventional Radiology at RADNET. Prior to this she was on the faculty at UCLA as an Assistant Professor of Neuroradiology. Dr. Bash’s passion and interests lie in Artificial Intelligence applications in advanced Neuroimaging which add patient-centric value and quality. She is a recurring guest on TV, radio, and podcasts and is actively involved in AI clinical trials, peer-reviewed publications, and AI related educational talks and webinars. Dr. Bash serves on the Medical Advisory Boards of several AI companies. She is also on the Editorial Board in the AI section for Applied Radiology and is a frequent contributing author to this journal.
Dr. Bash received her MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed a 2-year Neuroradiology Fellowship and Residency at UCLA.
Darren Brennan, MB BCh BAO(Hons), MSc(Rad Sci), MRCPI, FFR(RCSI), FRCR(UK), DABR
Dr. Brennan is the President of Global Radiology Readers Inc. He was previously an Associate Professor in radiology at the U Mass Memorial Healthcare system. He also served on the faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston and was an assistant Professor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School. His major research interests include tumor ablation and the use of stereotactic radiosurgery in body malignancies. He has published over forty peer reviewed papers focused primarily on the assessment and treatment of malignancy.
Dr. Brennan graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway. He subsequently completed a radiology residency in Ireland and fellowships in musculoskeletal imaging and interventional radiology. He then relocated to the US where he completed an abdominal imaging fellowship in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.
Jan Cerny, MD, PhD, FACP
Dr. Cerny is an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Director of the Leukemia Program, and Co-Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program. His research focus is in translational and clinical research in Leukemia including research to improve our understanding of the biology of leukemia stem cells and their microenvironment, and to identify potential targets. His clinical research interests include evaluating novel therapies for patients with hematological malignancies including targeted, cellular, and immune approaches.
Dr. Cerny received his MD and PhD from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UMass Chan Medical School and Roger Williams Medical Center.
Timothy Yap, MBBS, PhD, FRCP
Dr. Timothy Yap is a Medical Oncologist and Physician-Scientist based at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is an Associate Professor in the Department for Investigational Cancer Therapeutics and the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology. Dr. Yap is the Medical Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson. He is also the Associate Director of Translational Research in the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy.
Dr. Yap gained his BSc degree at Imperial College London, UK, and attained his medical degree from Imperial College London, UK, before completing general medical training in Oxford. Dr. Yap undertook a Clinical Fellowship at the Royal Marsden Hospital before completing a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology in the Division of Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research under a Cancer Research UK Fellowship.