Damien C. Rodger, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California & Visiting Associate in Medical Engineering, California Institute of Technology

While completing his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 2000 Damien C. Rodger, MD, PhD worked as a co-op intern at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on microsystems for unmanned space exploration. Dr. Rodger then earned his MD from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) and his PhD in bioengineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the USC Eye Institute/LAC+USC program and his fellowship in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery at the USC Eye Institute in 2015, for which he was awarded the prestigious Heed Foundation Fellowship and the Ronald G. Michels Fellowship in Vitreoretinal Surgery. Dr. Rodger is currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at USC in the vitreoretinal surgery and uveitis departments, and is a Visiting Associate in Medical Engineering at Caltech. Dr. Rodger has conducted groundbreaking research on the design, fabrication, and testing of high density microtechnologies for retinal and spinal cord prostheses and other novel bioMEMS for intraocular pressure reduction and monitoring, with a focus on parylene-based microelectronics. Dr. Rodger has written more than 40 journal and refereed conference proceeding publications and has been granted more than 20 patents to date.