MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
At HelpMeSee, our instructors ensure our trainees have a proficient grasp of manual small incision cataract surgery techniques. Our instructor-led training prepares our trainees for real-world surgical scenarios using state-of-the-art ophthalmic simulation-based training to provide a realistic, hands-on learning environment.
LEARNING DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTER
MUMBAI, INDIA
Dr. Chetan Ahiwalay
Chief Instructor and Subject Matter Expert, India, HMS Vision PLC
Dr. Ahiwalay joined HMS Vision PLC as Chief Instructor and Subject Matter Expert. He performed fellowships at two of India’s top eye hospitals, a fellowship in phacoemulsification at Sankara Nethralaya and another in medical retina at Aravind Eye Hospital.
Dr. Ahiwalay leads the MSICS Simulation-based Training Course (MSTC) delivery at the Learning Development/Training Center in Mumbai. He also trains the HelpMeSee team of instructors. He advises on the development of the MSICS surgery simulation from a training perspective. In addition to his work, Dr. Ahiwalay practices cataract and anterior segment surgery extensively and has vast experience in MSICS practice and training.
Dr. Kimaya Chavan
Lead Instructor, India, HMS Vision PLC
Dr. Kimaya Chavan is the HMS Vision PLC Lead Instructor in Mumbai, India. She has served as a consultant ophthalmologist at the Chavan Hospital in Mumbai, where she has been in private practice since 2001.
Dr. Chavan has worked as an MSICS and PHACO trainer at Lions NAB Hospital, Miraj, and has conducted many SICS camps on behalf of the Chavan Charitable Trust. In addition, she regularly presents research papers at MOS and AIOC conferences.
Dr. Chavan received her DOMS from Rajiv Gandhi University, Bangalore, and her DNB from Lions NAB Hospital, Miraj. She completed her Observership at Minto Hospital, Bangalore.
LEARNING DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTER
ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR
Polyclinique Ilafy
Dr. Jean Marie Andre-Valentini, MD
Chief Instructor, Madagascar & Head of Mazava Project
He joined HelpMeSee as a Medical Officer in 2013. He is an anterior segment surgeon with over 40 years of experience.
Dr. Andre-Valentini completed his medical education and received his Master of Surgery from Marseille Medical School in France. For decades, he worked on behalf of Marseille Medical School in Francophone, West Africa. In collaboration with the West African Health Organization, he educated local medical professionals on using MSICS.
Dr. Andre-Valentini is a member of the Malagasy Society of Ophthalmology, the French Society of Ophthalmology and the European Society of Ophthalmology.
LEARNING DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTER
QUERETARO, MEXICO
Mexican Institute of Ophthalmology (I.M.O.)
Dr. Karla Pamela GONZÁLEZ Daher, MD
Instructor Deputy Director of the Anterior Segment Department, Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología (IMO)
Dr. González is an Anterior Segment Surgeon at the Mexicano de Oftalmología (IMO) in Querétaro, Mexico, where she teaches phacoemulsification and Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery to residents. Dr. González qualified as an HelpMeSee Ocular Incisions and Dissections Course Instructor in 2019. Working with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Van Lansingh, Dr. González installed the HelpMeSee Eye Surgery Simulator to IMO, the first in Latin America.
As part of the HelpMeSee Partnership Training program, Dr. González will teach Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery using the Eye Surgery Simulator and the MSICS Cataract Surgery eBook.
In addition to her surgical appointment, Dr. González is President of the Research Ethics Committee and Head of Teaching at Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología/La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She is also a Collaborator for the International Council of Ophthalmology.
Dr. González graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Querétaro, where she completed her Instituto residency with Mexicano de Oftalmología I.A.P. and subspecialty study in ocular anterior segment microsurgery. She has a Master’s Degree in Bioethics from the Center for Advanced Social Research.
Dr. Teresa Diaz Flores
Lead Instructor, Associate Director of the Anterior Segment Department, Mexicano de Oftalmología (IMO)
Dr. Díaz is certified by HelpMeSee to teach Sclerolcorneal Tunnel Construction Course (STCC) at the Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología (IMO)/Autonomous University of Mexico, where she also completed a fellowship in Anterior Segment Surgery in March of 2020 and an ophthalmology residency 2018.
Dr. Diaz’s graduate thesis compared the visual results of phacoemulsification cataract surgery with Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS). She received her board certification from the Mexican Council of Ophthalmology in 2018.
Training Centers and Partner Locations
United States
Dr. Nasar Mohammed, MD
Instructor, HelpMeSee, SIMLab New Jersey
Dr. Nasar Mohammed is an Instructor at the HelpMeSee SIMLab in New Jersey. He has over 30 years of experience as an anterior segment and refractive surgeon. In 2022, he joined HelpMeSee to work on its simulation-based microsurgery training program.
Dr. Mohammed’s experience includes extensive volunteer work with NGOs and charitable nonprofit organizations. He organized eye camps and performed thousands of cataract surgeries with the help of Lions and Rotary clubs. For the last three decades, he was the Founder and Director of Roshan Eye Center – a center of excellence for LASIK, cataract and refractive surgeries in Bangalore, India.
Dr. Mohammed received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India. He was an Anterior Segment Fellow at the Royal Free Hospital, University of London, UK, following which he completed a fellowship at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India.
Later, Dr. Mohammed served as teaching faculty at Dr. BR Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore and worked as a Consulting Ophthalmologist at his alma mater, Manipal Hospital in Bangalore.
Dr. Minal ShahBaldota
Subject Matter Expert & Chief Instructor, Americas, SIMLab New Jersey
Dr. Minal ShahBaldota is Chief Instructor, Americas, for HelpMeSee. She leads the delivery of training operations for the Americas and oversees training the trainers in the entire region. She is also a core member of the innovation and technology development team, playing a key role developing new surgical training modules with rigorous quality assurance. She is known worldwide as a tireless advocate for using simulation technology to strengthen ophthalmology surgical education.
Dr. ShahBaldota has over twenty years of experience in ophthalmic surgery and mentoring and is a lifetime member of the AIOC (All India Ophthalmological Society) and BOA (Bombay Ophthalmologists Association).
Dr. ShahBaldota received a degree in medicine from the MS University of Baroda, India. She completed fellowships in advanced cataract surgery, phacoemulsification, LASIK and glaucoma.
Dr. Kristin Pisacano
Instructor, HelpMeSee, SIMLab New Jersey
Dr. Donald N. Serafano
Instructor, HelpMeSee, University of Southern California (USC)
Dr. Donald N. Serafano is a distinguished anterior segment surgeon specializing in refractive and cataract surgery and advance intraocular lens technology. He earned his B.S. from Villanova University and his M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine, followed by an ophthalmology residency at the Mayo Clinic and a fellowship in anterior segment surgery in Long Beach, Ca.
A former USAF Medical Corps Captain, Dr. Serafano has held academic appointments at University of Southern California and University of California Irvine, and currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of the Orange County Eye Project.
Recognized with honors such as a Lifetime Award from AAO and the Benedetto Strampelli Award from the Italian SOI, Dr. Serafano has delivered over 60 international presentations, contributed to literature, and remains a consultant and leader in the field of ophthalmology.
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