From left are Bascom Palmer Director Eduardo Alfonso; Dr. David T. Tse, the Dr. Nassar Ibrahim Al-Rashid Chair in Ophthtalmology; UM President Julio Frenk; Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid and his sons, Fahad Al-Rashid and Ibrahim Al-Rashid; UM Trustee Ron Stone; and Miller School Dean Emeritus Pascal J. Goldschmidt.

MIAMI, Fla. (July 26, 2016) —Bascom Palmer Eye Institute—the global leader in eye care, vision research, and ophthalmology education—has launched the Master of Science in Vision Science and Investigative Ophthalmology (MVSIO) program. This innovative, first-of-its-kind program offers comprehensive training in ophthalmic translational research, problem-based learning, management, and a skill set available only at Bascom Palmer.

Led by Bascom Palmer’s world-class faculty and supported by leading-edge technology, the MVSIO program will educate the next generation of global leaders in ophthalmology, including clinicians and vision researchers. The interdisciplinary program focuses on science and laboratory research, research management, and administrative skills to sharpen the critical thinking and communication expertise essential for careers within the realm of ophthalmology.

Bascom Palmer is internationally recognized as an outstanding teaching, research, and patient care center, and its training programs are among the best in the world. As the department of ophthalmology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, it is committed to improving sight, preventing blindness, and advancing ophthalmic knowledge.

This August, five students will begin the two-year MVSIO program. The inaugural class includes medical doctors with degrees from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine; Universidad Iberoamerica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Tripoli University, Libya; and Alexandria University, Egypt.

Much of the MVSIO program takes place within the Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid Orbital Vision Center located in the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Vision Research Center on the Miller School campus.

The center’s facility was made possible thanks to a transformative $10 million gift from Dr. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid and his children: Nourah Caskey, Ramzi Al-Rashid, Salman Al-Rashid, Ibrahim Al-Rashid, and Mohammad N. Al-Rashid. During a recent dedication ceremony of the eponymous center, the Al-Rashid sons, Ibrahim, Mohammad, and Salman, made an additional commitment of $2.5 million to continue to propel the vision research engine.

“The MVSIO program would not be possible without the generosity of the Al-Rashid family,” says Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya, professor of ophthalmology and director of the MVSIO graduate program. “Their support allows Bascom Palmer to attract exceptional graduate students from every corner of the globe to realize their full potential in eye and vision science.”

A longtime UM supporter, Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid received an honorary doctor of science degree from the University in 2008. Two of  his sons are UM graduates, with Fahad Al-Rashid earning an A.B. in Marine Science Affairs in 2005, and Ibrahim Al-Rashid earning a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship in 2006.