Nicola G. Ghazi, M.D.

Dr. Nicola George Ghazi is an American Board-Certified and Fellowship-trained Ophthalmologist who specializes in ophthalmic pathology, vitreoretinal diseases and surgery. He is currently a Consultant for retinal diseases and surgery and the Medical Director of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Abu Dhabi. He was a former consultant and Department Chair, Posterior Segment at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Dr. Ghazi completed residency training at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and then repeated residency at the University of Virginia (UVA), USA. He also underwent 3 years of subspeciality fellowship training in eye pathology, retinal diseases and surgery at the University of Virginia and the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

After completing his speciality and subspeciality training in the United States, he served as acting residency program director and as an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Virginia. He was then recruited to help build the new ophthalmology department at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, where he was appointed as the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs. Following his experience in the United States, Dr. Ghazi was recruited to the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) in Saudi Arabia, where he achieved the rank of Senior Academic Consultant. He then joined the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) in 2014, where he contributed to the buildup and development of the eye institute.

Dr. Ghazi is the author of over 100 published research articles and 9 book chapters. He has delivered many presentations, including close to 200 invited lectures, at regional, national, and international meetings worldwide. He is a member of many national and international ophthalmic organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the Emirates Society of Ophthalmology, and the Lebanese Ophthalmological Society. He is also a reviewer for numerous ophthalmic journals, including Ophthalmology, JAMA Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Retina, and Retina. 

His dedication to clinical excellence, patient experience, research, and medical education led to numerous honors and awards, including the Thomas Frey Resident Award for outstanding research and presentation, Virginia Society of Ophthalmology 2007; Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Virginia 2009; American Academy of Ophthalmology, International Education Award, 2019; and American Society of Retina Specialists Award for outstanding contributions to the journal of vitreoretinal diseases, 2024.