Young Systems Leader: Arthur Brant

Arthur Brant

Organisation: Africa Eye Imaging Centre

Role: Co-Founder

Arthur is an ophthalmology resident at Stanford and will be starting his Chief year shortly. His academic and professional pursuits have resulted in notable publications in journals such as Ophthalmology, Clinical Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Science, and JCRS. Moreover, Arthur consults for Google Research’s Ophthalmology team, focusing on the application of AI for diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening in India and for Pr3vent, a company building telemedicine for universal newborn eye screenings.

Arthur’s number one passion is Africa Eye Imaging Centre, which he cofounded alongside Akwasi Ahmed in 2023. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to expanding access to retinal screenings in Africa, starting with diabetic retinopathy and sickle cell retinopathy, with plans to include screenings for other conditions such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and glaucoma. Through the deployment of fundus cameras and the establishment of a comprehensive medical retina clinic, Arthur and his team aim to democratize access to crucial eye care services.

Underpinning their clinical efforts are several research studies focused on the prevalence and diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and sickle cell retinopathy, the efficacy of retinal laser training, and the epidemiology of retina conditions in Ghana. These endeavors have been supported by grants, including the 2023 Rosenkranz Prize, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, Research to Prevent Blindness, and Vitreoretinal Surgical Foundation.

Arthur grew up in Canfield, Ohio, where he graduated as valedictorian. His quest for knowledge led him to Stanford University, where he pursued an undergraduate degree in computer science and pre-med, earning recognition in the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. Arthur’s unique blend of interests and skills took him to Google, where he was instrumental in founding Verily’s cloud healthcare security, led the backend development for a mental health project using digital biomarkers, and contributed to research utilizing deep learning for mass spectrometry analysis.

Arthur returned to Stanford for medical school, balancing his studies with his role as a full-time software engineer at Google. It was during medical school, under the mentorship of Geoff Tabin, that Arthur’s passion for global health was ignited. His medical school journey was punctuated by six trips around the world to learn more about the current state of Ophthalmology in India, Nepal, Ghana, and Ethiopia, with a special fondness for Ghana due to the warmth of its people and the ripe potential for improving eyecare access.

Moving forward, Arthur will become a vitreoretinal surgeon and leveraging technology and medicine to make scale retinal care globally.