A Chat with Yoshihiro Yonekawa, MD

In this episode, I chat with Yoshihiro Yonekawa, MD. Dr. Yonekawa is a pediatric and adult retinal surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital and Mid Atlantic Retina and resides as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. We discuss his early fascination with microsurgery and how the mentorship of Dr. Paul Chan, a former guest of the show and current Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, was instrumental in introducing him to pediatric retina. Dr. Yonekawa shares what makes the field of pediatric retina so unique within the specialty of vitreoretinal surgery and how worldwide the call to action is being taken by many retina specialists to address the burden of retinopathy of prematurity. With a passion for clinical research, Dr. Yonekawa and I discuss how he sees the philosophy of collaboration in research as key to driving the field forward in exciting directions. His successful career expands outside clinical care and research initiatives. Dr. Yonekawa is on the Executive Committee for the Vit Buckle Society (VBS) and is also the Vice President for Academic Programing amongst his many other societal memberships and editorial positions for high-impact journals in ophthalmology. He shares the importance of being a part of the community of fellow retina specialists and the spirit of camaraderie at the heart of VBS. With a career that has been decorated in awards from his early days of training at Harvard medical school’s Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary and his vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at the Associated Retinal Consultants/William Beaumont Hospital, Dr. Yonekawa reflects on this recent honor he had of being inducted into the Retina Society. Finally, we touch on the advice Dr. Yonekawa has for prospective ophthalmology applicants and what he views as crucial pieces to a successful match. Dr. Yonekawa believes the drive, sense of mission, and passion for bettering the lives of patients and colleagues is the foundation of a career rooted in purpose. You can follow him on Twitter @YoshiYonekawaMD.