Dr. Geoff Tabin, Internationally Respected Ophthalmologist, to Speak at University of San Diego Commencement Ceremony

SAN DIEGO – Dr. Geoff Tabin, professor of Surgery and Ophthalmology at the University of Utah School of Medicine and the co-founder and co-director of the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP), will provide the 2016 Commencement address at the University of San Diego’s School of Business and Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 22, at 2 p.m. School of Engineering Dean Chell Roberts made the announcement today.

“We are truly honored to have Dr. Geoff Tabin, a respected global visionary, speaking to the 2016 graduating class,” said Dean Roberts. “Thanks in large part to Dr. Tabin’s innovative and visionary work, thousands of people who would have lost their sight can now see,” said Roberts.

In addition to being a highly regarded ophthalmologist and global visionary, Tabin is also an elite climber. He is the fourth person to climb the “7 Summits,” the highest point of all seven continents; and has pioneered difficult technical rock, ice, and mountaineering routes on all seven continents including the East Face of Mt. Everest.

Quoted as saying, “Always dream the impossible, then try,” Tabin and HCP co-founder Dr. Sanduk Ruit, set-out to achieve the impossible when they began training Himalayan doctors, ophthalmic assistants and nurses to perform cataract surgeries in 1994. Today, 22-years later, more than 100 doctors and 100 assistants have been trained conducting more than 200,000 surgeries per year. Each year, HCP holds high-volume, remote region cataract surgery camps where they train local doctors while providing surgery to rural patients.

An innovation leader, under Dr. Tabin’s leadership, HCP substantially lowered the cost of intraocular lenses by opening a factory in Nepal that produces quality devices. The production cost of the devices has dropped from $200 per device to under $5/ea.

Tabin is a Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Co-Director of the Outreach Division at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah. He specializes in cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery. Tabin co-leads the International Division of the John A. Moran Eye Center as part of his vision to provide high quality ophthalmic care, education, and establishment of a world-class eye care infrastructure. He graduated from Yale College, earned a M.A. in philosophy at Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, and then his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He interned at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center in surgery and completed residencies at Brown University School of Medicine in ophthalmology and Michael Reese Hospital in orthopedic surgery. Tabin was awarded a fellowship in ophthalmology at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He practices at the Redstone Health Center, Moran Eye Center Clinic, Park City, Utah.

About the University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning committed to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and the creation of ethical leaders. Chartered in 1949, the school enrolls approximately 8,300 undergraduate and graduate full-time equivalent students. The University of San Diego has a long history of public service and is recognized as a Changemaker Campus by Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. The university’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education.

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In February 2016, USD launched the public phase of Leading Change: The Campaign for USD, which represents the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the university and builds upon the strong philanthropic momentum achieved by USD in recent years. In September 2016, USD introduced Envisioning 2024, a strategic plan that capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and aligns new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.