Gary Wörtz

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Kentucky, Cataract and Refractive Surgeon, Commonwealth Eye Surgery, Founder/Chief Medical Advisor, Omega Ophthalmics, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

If you weren’t an ophthalmologist...

I’d be a barista/coffee shop owner. I have been obsessed with coffee for most of my life. I have purchased almost every style of coffee maker, from drip coffee, to cold brew apparatus, to my latest investment in a commercial grade espresso grinder and machine. What I love about making coffee are the multitude of variables from bean, to roast and freshness, to grind size, pressure, and temperature. We are performing a complex chemical extraction, and the results can be fantastic with proper equipment and technique. Some days, I dream of opening a coffee shop by the beach upon retirement decades from now, where the worst thing that happens is that I have to remake a cup of coffee for someone.

Part of the Power List 2015

In 2014, we compiled a list of the Top 100 most influential people in ophthalmology – an endeavor that received a significant amount of attention and, it’s fair to say, caused more than a little controversy. For our 2015 Top 40 Under 40 list we’ve taken a different approach, asking: who are the young, up-and-coming individuals set to rise to the top of their field? That’s the question we posed to ourselves – and then to you – ahead of open nominations and a painstaking judging process. Our list this year almost halves the average age of the celebrated individuals, with many of them born in the same year as the iconic Sex Pistols cover – 1977. Though we admit that no list of this type can be definitive, it does clearly show that the future of ophthalmology is very bright indeed. And so, without further ado, we celebrate the movers and shakers aged 40 or under who show what can be achieved with determination, passion and inspiration.

Go to The Power List 2015