Calvin Alexander Grant is an American

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

. Grant was born in 1970 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n parents, and spent a large amount of his childhood in the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

. At the age of 21 he attended the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

where he received the Oliver prize for ophthalmological research. His earlier research in

gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring ( reproduction). ...

to the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

using

adeno In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

-associated

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

was one of the first. This work was conducted under the Howard Hughes Medical Student Fellowship. Grant developed the first sustained treatment for

ischaemic Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems wi ...

and non-ischaemic

central retinal vein occlusion Central retinal vein occlusion, also CRVO, is when the central retinal vein becomes occluded, usually through thrombosis. The central retinal vein is the venous equivalent of the central retinal artery and both may become occluded. Since the centra ...

. His procedure, called revascularization by anastomotic decompression (RAD), allowed for communication between the blocked superficial retinal venous circulation and the open underlying choroidal circulation. In a press release issued by ISTA Pharmaceuticals, which has a strong interest in the success of the drug, it was claimed that Grant demonstrated a significant decrease in the number of treatments of ranibizumab (Lucentis) needed for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration by the concomitant administration of

bromfenac Bromfenac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) marketed in the US as an ophthalmic solution (brand names Prolensa and Bromday, prior formulation brand name Xibrom, which has since been discontinued) by ISTA Pharmaceuticals for short ...

(Xibrom). There was a significant reduction in the number of injections of ranibizumab given to those patients also receiving bromfenac during a six-month period. ISTA Pharmaceuticals at first claimed that there was no statistically significant visual acuity improvement amongst those receiving bromfenac in addition to ranibizumab, however; they now claim that upon "rigorous review" a significant improvement can be detected. ISTA Pharmaceuticals states that these results will need to be verified in clinical studies and that bromfenac is not currently approved for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Grant has also become the first to introduce robotic radiosurgery in the treatment of

choroidal melanoma Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer in the uvea of the eye. It is traditionally classed as originating in the iris, choroid, and ciliary body, but can also be divided into class I (low metastatic risk) and class II (high metastatic risk). Sympt ...

. Grant has had his license indefinitely suspended for a minimum of 6 months and fined $10,000 for performing a surgical procedure below the required standard of care and engaging in unprofessional conduct. https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/discpln/2023-07enf.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Calvin A. 1970 births Living people Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni American ophthalmologists American people of Jamaican descent