Speaker Biography

Cynthia A. Toth received her M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania followed by Ophthalmology Residency at Geisinger Medical Center and Vitreoretinal Fellowship at University of California, Davis. She served as an ophthalmologist in the US Air Force, directed the Retina Service at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in Texas, and at Brooks Air Force Base collaborated in retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) research.

Cynthia joined the Duke University Vitreoretinal Retina Surgical Faculty in 1993, in 2005 became Professor of Ophthalmology with tenure and Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering, and in 2015 was named the Joseph AC Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology. She followed Robert Machemer, M.D. as the director of the surgical instrument prototyping Duke Eye Center Biophysics Laboratory. Dr. Toth later transformed the Biophysics laboratory into her Duke Advanced Research in SD/SS OCT Imaging (DARSI) Laboratory. She also built on Dr. Machemer’s pioneering surgical work by streamlining macular translocation surgery as a treatment for vision loss from neovascular AMD in the era before anti-VEGF therapy. Dr. Toth is co-founder of the Duke Reading Center. She designed and chaired the multi-center AREDS2 Ancillary OCT Study and she directed OCT grading for the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trial. In >25 years of collaborating with biomedical engineer, Professor Joseph Izatt, PhD and colleagues, she has developed integrated OCT imaging for use in retinal surgery, taking image-guided ocular microsurgery to the next level. Prof. Toth’s translational research has also been the genesis for the field of infant ocular OCT imaging, enabling the first FDA-cleared handheld system for neonates in 2012. Her NIH-supported research focuses on a revolutionary approach to screening infants and those who cannot access conventional tabletop systems, through portable, handheld, OCT imaging to identify markers of ROP and of eye and brain development. Dr. Toth now divides her time between her University appointment and serving as Chief Medical Officer (and co-founder) of Theia Imaging, developing novel accessible OCT systems in Durham, North Carolina. She is Chairman of the Board of the Robert Machemer Foundation and serves on the Board of the International Retinal Research Foundation.

Cynthia has served as Vice Chair of Clinical Research and Director of Physician-Scientist Development for Duke Eye Center, and on the Distinguished Chairs and Conflict of Interest Committees for Duke University. Her awards include: The Hartwell Foundation Research/ Collaborative Awards; Irish Ophthalmologic Society Mooney Medal; RPB Physician Scientist and Stein Innovation Awards; Retina Society Research Award of Merit; Women in Ophthalmology & Women Physician’s Section of AMA Mentorship Award; Dean’s Translational Research and Mentoring Award; Rockefeller Foundation Academic Writing Residency; Macula Society Paul Henkind Award; Club Jules Gonin Wacker Prize; Women in Ophthalmology Scientific Achievement Award; WSPOS Jack Kanski Medal; and ASRS Gertrude D. Pyron Award.
Cynthia lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her husband David Katz. He is her joy, life partner and inspiration, sharing travel, cooking, the outdoors, family and friends.

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