Vision Excellence Awards: Ellery Lopez Star

Dr. Ellery Lopez Star is the current medical director of the Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmologia IAP [Mexican Institute of Ophthalmology, IMO].

After graduating from medical school in 1995 at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Dr. Lopez completed a postgraduate residency in Ophthalmology and a Fellowship in Vitreo-Retinal Surgery from the same university. Later, he pursued a second Fellowship in Ocular Inflammatory Disease at the Valladolid Institute for Applied Ophthalmo-biology in Spain, graduating in 2003.

With an ongoing interest in the topics of administration and leadership, he proceeded to study for a master’s degree in Hospital Management at the Universidad Abierta de Cataluña in 2006, and he obtained a master’s in Business Administration in 2017 from the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico.

Immediately after his medical training, he worked in the Vitreo-Retinal Department of the Hospital de Nuestra Señora de la Luz, where his responsibilities included training numerous ophthalmology residents and subspecialty fellows, as well as advancing the welfare of a large underserved population in Mexico City.

He has also worked voluntarily as a secretary and medical education committee coordinator for the Mexican Ophthalmology Society, and as vice-president and president of the Mexican Center for Ocular Inflammatory Disease.  He is also the current Treasure of the Preventive Visual Health Committee of the Mexican Society of Ophthalmology.

He is currently the medical director of the Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmologia IAP, and under his direction the IMO has grown exponentially. In the area of clinical care, the number of patient consultations has expanded from 15,000 to about 100,000, with a major impact on the visual health of the surrounding region. He is responsible for the establishment of the IMO’s Reading Center and telemedicine program as well as its outreach program, which at this moment has three satellite locations providing substantial benefits for underserved communities in Mexico.

In keeping with the IMO’s objectives, he also continues to be involved in research studies, serving as a tutor and advisor for more than 18 specialty and subspecialty theses on the subjects of uveitis, retina and epidemiology. He has co-authored numerous publications, and he organized one of the country’s three Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) studies.

Needless to say, the MBA studies and de Diploma in High Management from the IPADE, one of the most prestigious business schools in the country, have consolidated the experience he has gained in favor of the institution and those in most need.

In 2016, he was named by the IAPB as an Eye Health Hero, and he is constantly seeking ways to pursue the Institute’s mission more effectively.