The 2026 Heed-Gutman Award was presented on October 10, 2026, to Dr. SriniVas R. Sadda.
2026 Heed-Gutman Award - SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO
SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, is the Director of Artificial Intelligence & Imaging Researchat the Doheny Eye Institute, and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) Geffen School of Medicine. He will assume the role of Chair of Ophthalmology at Duke University in November of 2026. He is also past President of the Doheny Eye Institute, the International Retinal Imaging Society, the Macula Society, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). He currently serves as the Executive Director of the global RIMR AMD Consortium. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed ophthalmology residency and neuro-ophthalmology and medical retina fellowships (Wilmer Eye Institute).
Dr. Sadda’s major research interests include retinal image analysis, advanced retinal imaging technologies, and clinical trial endpoint design. He was the Founding Director of the Doheny Image Reading Center. He has more than 950 peer-reviewed publications (h-index = 120; > 64,000 citations) and 20 book chapters, and has given over 700 presentations worldwide. Dr. Sadda is Editor-in-Chief of the 7th Edition of Ryan’s Retina. He also serves as an Editor-in-Chief of Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology and is an editorial board member of Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers & Imaging, Retina, Ophthalmology Retina, Ophthalmology Science and Ophthalmology. Among Dr. Sadda’s awards and honors are a Research to Prevent Blindness Physician-Scientist Award, a Senior Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists, an Achievement Award and a Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, John H. Zumberge Research and Innovation Award, the Macula Society’s Young Investigator Award, American Society of Retina Specialists Young Investigator Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Achievement Award, The Macula Society’s Paul Henkind Lecture and W. Richard Green Lecture, the Euretina Lecture, The Retina Society’s Charles Schepens Lecture, Vitreoretinal Society of India Nataraja Pillai Oration, and the APVRS International Award Lecture (2025). Dr. Sadda’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for several years, including two current R01 grants from the National Eye Institute.