Shawn Kavoussi MD

03/02/2026

Incredibly proud of the clinical trial team at Texas Retina Center for enrolling the FIRST patient in the landmark COMO Phase 3 study for diabetic macular edema sponsored by EyePoint.

This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated research coordinators Sethmini Rajaguru & Kourtney Storey from accelerated study start-up to first randomization this week. Special thanks to Ramiro Ribeiro, MD, PhD, Alejandro G Sabino Fernandez M.D and Jay S. Duker, M.D. at EyePoint for pushing the boundaries of innovation to potentially offer better treatments for our patients. Also special thanks to David Eichenbaum who has been a mentor every step of the way as we built a clinical research program at Texas Retina Center.

COMO (EYP-1901-303) evaluates Vorolanib, a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) intra-vitreal insert that blocks pro-angiogenic signaling from all VEGF isoforms and PDGFR, and also inhibits inflammatory IL-6 signaling by targeting JAK-1. Combining potent VEGF suppression with anti-inflammatory IL-6 inhibition can potentially offer more effective and longer-lasting results for our patients with sight-threatening diabetic macular edema.

08/18/2025

One third of diabetic eyes screened with undilated fundus photos in the P*P setting on a national telemedicine platform had evidence of pathology, including all levels of diabetic retinopathy from mild to proliferative; as well as macular edema, glaucoma, retinal vein occlusion, and vitreo-macular interface abnormalities. Potentially life-threatening pathology, including optic nerve edema, hollenhorst plaques, and choroidal neoplasms could also be seen in select cases. I had the pleasure of sharing this data recently at the 2025 American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) national meeting in Long Beach, CA.  Much credit to the team at Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems for building an effective platform. 

08/01/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Shawn Kavoussi on publishing research using infrared video imaging to detect and measure eye floaters! Your work highlights how this dynamic technique improves visualization, enhances patient comfort, and supports clinical decision-making. The study also introduces the Macular Vitreous Opacity Score to help standardize documentation, guide treatment decisions, and assess outcomes from interventions. We are honored that your research utilized Heidelberg Engineering SPECTRALIS multimodal imaging platform.

📖 Read the abstract here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/24741264241310219

05/20/2025

Yesterday my practice and 4D Molecular Therapeutics hosted a recruitment dinner for the pivotal phase 3 4FRONT-1 clinical trial evaluating intravitreal gene therapy for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration. Special thanks to Naghmeh Khayyat PhD and 4DMT for helping organize this opportunity for the Houston-area eye care community together and learn about the next generation of retina treatments.

12/16/2024

04/02/2024

How to protect your eyes and test your solar filters at home. Keep your retinas safe during the next solar eclipse on April 8. 🚨

10/05/2023

This beautiful IR + OCT image provided by Dr. Shawn Kavoussi shows a retinal detachment involving the macula, as the fovea has been spared.

07/30/2023

Thank you .retinaspecialists for opportunity to present 27 vs 25 gauge vitrectomy for symptomatic vitreous floaters: outcomes using infrared video.

06/16/2023

Thank you Ophthalmology for inviting me back to share updates on the research landscape of macular degeneration as they celebrate the department’s 50th anniversary.

02/02/2023

Honored to have performed first implantable miniature telescope (SING IMT) in Texas for advanced atrophic macular degeneration. Grateful for the hard work of the teams at Samsara and Gramercy Surgery Center for helping make this happen.

The small incision next generation (SING) implantable miniature telescope (IMT) is placed in the capsular bag by extending the limbal corneal wound after routine phacoemulsification of the cataract.

Patients who may qualify for the clinical trial have bilateral central scotomas from advanced geographic atrophy, and must be phakic with no recent injections or active CNV in the potential study eye.

The telescope offers 2.7x magnification, thereby placing a larger portion of the patient’s central visual target on the functional retina outside the area of the scotoma.

Surgical candidates receive pre-op counseling with an optometrist specializing in low vision as well as post operative low vision occupational therapy. Post-operative refraction is performed for monofocal distance and near correction for the study eye.

12/25/2022

from the Kavoussi boys.