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Lauderdale, Miami & South Florida

HOWARD BRAVERMAN OD

Dr. Howard Braverman founded the Braverman Eye Center in 1973, and practiced until 1999 when he left clinical practice to become the CEO of Vision Care Inc. in Tampa.Honored as "Optometrist of the Decade" by the Florida Optometric Association and as one of the "Best and Brightest Optometrists in the United States by 20/20 magazine, Dr. Howard Braverman served South Florida patients for more than twenty five years.

Dr. Braverman received his B.S. degree from the University of Miami and his OD from the University of Houston College of Optometry, which named him its Distinguished Optometry Alumnus for 1994. In 1990, Dr. Braverman was appointed by the Governor to the Florida State Board of Optometry, and he served on that Board for nine years, including 2 years as Chairman.

Dr. Braverman was President of the American Optometric Association and had held national office in the AOA since 1994. He is a past president of the Southern Council of Optometrists, a 13-state regional organization known for it's professional education seminars. In addition, he previously served as President of the Florida Optometric Association, President of the Broward County Optometric Association, and on the editorial council of the Southern Journal of Optometry.

As a past president of the Hallandale Rotary Club and a member of the Hallandale Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Braverman continues to be involved in the community.

STUART K. BURGESS M. D.

Dr. Burgess initially moved to Florida in 1971 and was raised in Palm Beach County. He received his undergraduate degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He conducted and published research at Louisiana State University Eye Center. He attended medical school at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, and completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Cornell University's North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York. At Cornell, he was the chief resident of Ophthalmology in 1995. After his residency, he elected to pursue his interest in retina by completing a two-year fellowship in medical and surgical treatment of vitreous and retinal diseases. His fellowship was performed at the University of California, San Diego, Shiley Eye institute. While in fellowship, he participated in research studying diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and macular holes. He has expertise in all areas of retinal disease including the management of macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears and detachments, macular holes, uveitis, ocular tumors, and ocular trauma. In addition to his clinical practice, he has actively participated in ocular research and has authored several articles that have been published in leading ophthalmology journals.

ERIC F. CILIBERTI MD, MS

Dr. Ciliberti is one of only a few physicians with residency training in both Ophthalmology and Neurology specialties, having done his Ophthalmology residency at Tulane University and his Neurology residency at the Cleveland Clinic. He recently completed subspecialty fellowship training in Neuro-ophthalmology with two of the most prominent names in Neuro-ophthalmology, Joel Glaser, M.D. and Norman Schatz, M.D. He is a native of New York, he has resided in South Florida since 1971. He currently living in Boca Raton, FL. In his spare time, Dr. Ciliberti enjoys cycling, boating, and racquetball. He is also a Captain in the Air Force Reserve Medical Corps.

RYAN HARGREAVES O.D.

Dr. Ryan Hargreaves is originally a Massachussetts native having completed his Bachelor of Science degree at Boston College, and received his Doctorate in Optometry cum laude from the New England College of Optometry, where he earned numerous awards for clinical excellence, scholarship and literature research. He completed internships at the New England Eye Institute, Brighton Marine Health Center, MA and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Centers of Manchester, NH and Brocton, MA. He then completed an Optometric Residency in Ocular Disease at the Braverman Eye Center.

Dr. Hargreaves continues to be active in private practice, and has returned to the Braverman Eye Center as its Clinical Optometric Director. As a Board Certified Optometric Physician, he provides full-scope primary care optometric services for all age groups from pediatric to geriatric. This includes comprehensive eye examinations, specialty contact lens fitting, ocular disease diagnosis and management, dry eye treatment with punctal plugs and co-management of all types of ocular surgeries including cataract and glaucoma surgeries, PRK and LASIK.

As Clinical Director, Dr. Hargreaves serves as Attending Physician to optometric interns from five different optometric colleges, as well as coordinator for the site’s Residency Program affiliated with Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry. He is an associate adjunct clinical professor for the University of Houston College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry and The New England College of Optometry, a member of the Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society and is actively involved in the Broward County, Florida and American Optometric Associations.

ALAN S. LANE MD, FACS

Dr Alan Lane was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., but has resided in south Florida for over thirty years. He did his undergraduate training at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and received his medical degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn, New York. After interning at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New Hyde Park, N.Y., he completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC.

Upon completing his training, Dr. Lane was the Chief of Ophthalmology at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Following this, Dr. Lane moved to Florida and has practiced general Ophthalmology in Hollywood for over 30 years. He is a past Chief of Ophthalmology at Hollywood Memorial Hospital, and is on the staff of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Hollywood Medical Center.

He is Board Certified in Ophthalmology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
 

Tirso Mark Lara MD, FACS

Dr. Tirso Mark Lara is the newest member of the Braverman Eye Center’s physician team. Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Mexico, Dr. Lara graduated from LaSalle University School of Medicine. He then completed a surgical research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. During this time, he was the recipient of the National Research Service Grant Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He also received the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) grant award to support research.

Following a surgical internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he continued his residency training at Vanderbilt University Department of Ophthalmology in Nashville, Tennessee. He furthered his studies with a two-year fellowship in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Retina Specialists of Alabama. As a fellow he learned the latest and most advanced methods of treatment for retinal diseases. Dr. Lara also served as a Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology for the Department of Ophthalmology and was actively involved in teaching residents.

He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Ocular Trauma, the American Medical Association, the Florida Academy of Ophthalmology, and the Broward County Ophthalmology Society. Dr. Lara is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Lara specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with all retinal disorders. He has a special interest in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and severe ocular trauma. He routinely uses state-of-the-art surgical and laser techniques for various problems such as retinal detachments, macular holes, and eye injuries. Dr. Lara has actively written and published articles in peer-reviewed medical journals, and has participated in large multi-center scientific studies.

He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and travels to underserved communities in Central America to donate his services. On a personal level, he dedicates his time to his wife Daniela, as well as playing piano and guitar.
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Gianmarco R. Paris, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Paris is a graduate of the Central University of Venezuela School of Medicine, where he graduated summa cum laude. He was awarded the Fundayacucho National Excellence Scholarship for his academic performance. His first Ophthalmology residency was completed at the Venezuelan Premier Ophthalmology training program at Hospital “J. A. Risquez”.
Desiring to come to the United States, he was awarded the Gillingham fellowship and a Whitehead Fellowship and then completed a two-year Fellowship in Glaucoma at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. In order to meet the American Board of Ophthalmology requirements, he completed a second internship and ophthalmology residency program, at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He then became a voluntary Clinical assistant professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He has now moved to the South Florida area.
Dr. Paris has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has lectured at multiple international meetings about Glaucoma.
He is an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology. Dr. Paris is fluent in Spanish, English and Italian. Dr. Paris is married with children. He enjoys scuba diving, soccer, golf and basketball.
 

JULIO PEREZ MD, FACS

Dr. Perez is originally from Puerto Rico, a US commonwealth island in the Caribbean. He obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of P.R. in San Juan and later completed his accredited residency in ophthalmology at the University District Hospital. Subsequently he became the first physician of Hispanic origin to complete a fellowship in vitreoretinal diseases and surgery at the Mount Sinai and Beth Israel Medical Centers in New York City. In 1989 Dr. Perez established his practice in Fort Lauderdale promptly understanding the importance of a close working relationship with the Optometric community and welcoming NSU students to his practice and the operating room ever since.

His research experience ranges from his undergraduate investigation on the regenerative potential of iris cells from newts in 1980 to the clinical efficacy of the topical antibiotic norfloxacin in 1986 to being the lead clinical researcher in the state of Florida for the development of the novel anti CMV retinitis drug fomivirsen in 1997 (Formivirsen opened the door for other messenger RNA drugs to evolve making it possible to treat disease at the genetic level).

Among other achievements; Dr. Perez became certified by American Board of Ophthalmology in 1989, was elected fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 1990 and is currently an adjunct assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University and a member of the American Society of Retinal Specialists. In other aspects of his personal life, he has been class valedictorian for the Fitness Institute International and has been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. His pastimes and passions include nitrox and advanced scuba diving, snow skiing, motorcycle riding, sporting clays, collecting guitars and producing instructional videos for beginner musicians.

Rahid Taher MD, FACS

Dr. Taher has authored several chapters in the text “Retinal Disorders and Acute Visual Loss.” He has been involved in the research of surgical treatment of retinal vascular occlusions and diode laser use in macular degeneration. He also has an interest in ocular trauma and the management of intraocular foreign bodies.

Dr Taher has served as a consultant to several health care related internet corporations and was a partner in three health care related internet startups. He is on the Board of Directors for CardiacAmerica, Teleradiology America and Pediatric Radiology of America. He is also on the Medical Executive Committees for multiple Ambulatory Surgical Centers.
 

DAVID TENZEL MD, FACS

Dr. David Tenzel has been a resident of Florida for more than 35 years and has always considered Florida his home. His training began at the University of Miami, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He completed two years at Chicago Medical School and then transferred to the University of Miami School of Medicine, graduating from there in 1985.

Dr. Tenzel completed an internship at Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis. His three-year Ophthalmology residency was at White Memorial Medical Center in California, where he served as Chief resident and earned an award for outstanding achievement.

Upon returning to Florida, Dr. Tenzel completed a Fellowship in Oculoplastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He has been in private practice in South Florida since 1990. A board-certified ophthalmologist, Dr. Tenzel has written many book chapters and journal articles on oculoplastic procedures, cosmetic eyelid surgery, reconstructive procedures and lacrimal surgery. He has lectured on oculoplastic surgery at Optometric meetings, trained ophthalmologists in oculoplastic surgery, and optometry students in oculoplastics, diagnostics and treatment.

Dr. Tenzel, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, has served as Chairman of Ophthalmology at Doctor’s Hospital in Hollywood and currently is Chairman of Ophthalmology at Columbia Aventura Hospital. He currently is listed in Who’s Who in America, was listed in Best Doctors in America in 1998, and was listed in Best Doctors in the Southeast Region from 1994 to 1997.

TIMOTHY ZIEGLER OD

Dr. Tim Zeigler is from Tampa, Florida, a flight medic Gulf War veteran who has completed a Chemistry B.A. at the University of South Florida, followed by a Doctorate in Optometry at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry in Ft. Lauderdale. He completed internships at Liane Downtown Eye Associates, Macdill Air Force Base, and at Nova Southeastern University  College of Optometry. In July 2000, Dr. Zeigler completed a residency in Primary Care/Ocular Disease at the Braverman Eye Center. As a Board Certified Optometrist, Dr. Zeigler continues to practice primary care optometry and serve as Attending Physician to the optometric interns at the Braverman Eye Center, and has rejoined the Air Force Reserve as a Captain, to serve weekend duty as a primary eyecare provider for Homestead Air Reserve Base.