Carl C. Awh, M.D., FASRS
Dr. Carl Awh (pronounced "Oh") is an internationally recognized clinician, surgeon, and educator. He completed a fellowship in Vitreoretinal Surgery and Research at the Duke University Eye Center with Dr. Robert Machemer, the "father of modern vitreous surgery." Dr. Awh began his career as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University, where he was Director of the Retina Service at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and the founding co-director of the Johns Hopkins Microsurgery Advanced Design Laboratory. In 1994, he moved to Nashville to join Tennessee Retina (then Retina Vitreous Associates).
Dr. Awh’s special interests include macular surgery, macular degeneration, and the development of surgical devices and techniques. He is an active investigator in industry-sponsored and National Eye Institute-sponsored clinical trials, has 28 issued or pending U.S. patents for retinal surgical devices and treatments, and has designed dozens of instruments in widespread use by vitreoretinal surgeons. He is a consultant to numerous ophthalmic companies and has lectured in over thirty countries and on every continent (except Antarctica!). He serves on the board of directors and is a past President of the American Society of Retina Specialists. He is a past member of the board of EURETINA, the European Retina Society.
Dr. Awh has been named to the "Best Doctors in America" every year since 2007 and is the recipient of Honor Awards and Senior Honor Awards from both the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Retina Specialists. In 2021, he received the Presidential Honor Award and was named a Fellow of the American Society of Retina Specialists. He is the founding Director of the Retina Fellows Forum, an annual national educational meeting for vitreoretinal specialists-in-training. Dr. Awh was inducted as an inaugural member of the Retina Hall of Fame in 2017.
Dr. Awh and his wife Grace are the parents of three adult children. They enjoy golf, travel, and hiking.
Undergraduate Education
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Boston, MAMedical School
M.D.
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Jackson, MSInternship
Georgetown University Hospital/Fairfax Hospital
Washington, DC/Fairfax, VAResidency
Ophthalmology
Chief Resident
Georgetown University Medical Center
Washington, DCFellowship
Vitreoretinal Surgery and Research
Duke University Eye Center
Durham, NC- Nashville Academy of Ophthalmology
- Tennessee Academy of Medicine
- American Medical Association
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Society of Retina Specialists
- The Retina Society
- Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
- European Society of Retina Specialists
