Rising Star: Arjan Hura

Ophthalmology was not initially on Arjan Hura’s radar. In fact, when he applied to medical school, he did so thinking he would become a neurologist. It was only after shadowing multiple neuromuscular disease doctors and neurologists, and observing the limited treatment regimens – and limited ability to be hands-on with patients – that he realized neurology wasn’t for him.

However, it was during his medical school’s neuroscience lectures that Hura met Karl Golnik, a neuro-ophthalmologist who at the time was the Chairman for Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati. Hura was able to set up an unofficial two-week elective with Golnik over winter break during his M3 year, during which he learned the basics of conducting a neuro-ophthalmic exam. “The first time Karl taught me how to use a slit lamp and I saw the optic nerve through a 90-diopter lens – hovering through the air in 3D – I just knew that ophthalmology was the field for me,” he says.

Although he had the fortune of training under many world-renowned surgeons and ophthalmologists, two particular experiences stand out for Hura. The first was completing a world-renowned refractive and cataract fellowship under Bill Wiley and Shamik Bafna at the Cleveland Eye Clinic. In fellowship, Hura spent four to five days a week in the OR developing his skills in cataract surgery, refractive lens exchange, phakic IOL surgery, laser vision correction, and cross-linking. He also became involved in multiple clinical trials, began to collaborate with industry, and started to create surgical videos to help teach other surgeons laser vision correction. Although the clinical, surgical, and research experiences were top-notch during his fellowship, it was the energy of the practice that stood out most for him. There was never a day when he, Wiley, and Bafna weren’t talking about “some idea or a new surgical instrument” that they might be able to implement or put together. “There was just this environment of curiosity and love for the profession, and wanting to give back and make it better,” he says. “It was an incredibly transformative year for me – and probably the zenith of my ophthalmic training.”

His second career highlight was joining Robert Maloney and Neda Shamie in private practice at the iconic Maloney-Shamie Vision Institute in Los Angeles, California as a refractive and cataract surgeon. Describing it as the opportunity of a lifetime, “we have a lot of big plans for the future and I am extremely excited for what is to come,” he says.

Hura is passionate about giving his patients a boutique experience and tailoring the method of vision correction for each of his patients. His clinical research interests are focused on investigating ways to reverse cataractogenesis, helping develop an IOL that can be as good or better than the natural human crystalline lens, and helping to advance laser vision correction at large. “These are the themes that get me fired up and make me passionate about what I do on a day-to-day basis.”

Hura’s ultimate goal is to provide excellent patient care while staying informed about the latest advancements in technology, continuing to work on clinical research, and continuing to travel, learn, teach, and give back to his profession.

Arjan Hura is a board-certified and fellowship-trained refractive, cataract, and anterior segment surgeon at the Maloney-Shamie Vision Institute in Los Angeles, California.