Thomas A. Ciulla, MD, MBA, FASRS
Vitreo-Retina Service
Midwest Eye Institute
11220 Illinois St.
Carmel, IN 46032
United States map
(317) 817-1822 office
Professional Affiliations
Academic Appointments- Adjunct Clinical Professor, Indiana University School of Medicine
Education and Training
- College
- Harvard College, Cambridge, MA
- Medical School
- UCSF, San Francisco, CA
- Internship
- Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA
- Ophthalmology residency
- Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA
- Retinal fellowship
- Tufts Medical School, Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, Boston, MA
- College
- Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Indianapolis, IN
Biography
Dr. Ciulla graduated from Harvard College, with high honors in chemistry and from the University of California San Francisco UCSF School of Medicine, where he was elected to AOA, the National Medical Honor Society. He completed an ophthalmology residency at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and then a fellowship at Tufts Med School/OCB where he was a recipient of a Heed Fellowship. He earned an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, specializing in the business of medicine.
Dr. Ciulla was Co-Director of the Retina Service and Retina Angiogenesis Research Laboratory at Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest U.S. medical school, and remains a volunteer Clinical Professor. He has been awarded Professor of the Year in the Department of Ophthalmology, and has been named on "The Best Doctors List" by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. He serves on the board of directors of Midwest Eye Institute, a multi-subspecialty group which evaluates 75,000 visits yearly, where he performed clinical research.
Dr. Ciulla was principal investigator, medical monitor, and member of scientific advisory, data safety monitoring or writing committees in over 100 national clinical trials, including CATT and registration trials for nearly all FDA-approved retinal therapeutics. He served on numerous advisory and journal editorial boards, edited several textbooks, presented in over 200 conferences, and co-authored over 200 Medline-indexed papers, including the first published US-based randomized clinical trial on any intravitreal therapy in neovascular AMD. He is an active member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Macula and Retina Societies, American Society of Retina Specialists, and American Academy of Ophthalmology, with senior honor and achievement awards from the latter two societies.
Dr. Ciulla serves as President and CEO of Ikarovec, developing bifunctional gene therapies for AMD and retinal degeneration that address multi-pathway disease mechanisms, with Phase I/IIa clinical trials planned for late 2026. Previously, he served as CMO at Viridian Therapeutics and Clearside Bio (leading to FDA approval of Xipere), VP at Spark Therapeutics (leading to FDA approval of Luxturna, the first FDA-approved gene therapy for a genetic disease), and at Ophthotech/Iveric (contributing to the development of FDA-approved Izervay).
Notable accomplishments:
• First in the US to coauthor a peer-reviewed randomized prospective trial on an intravitreal therapy for macular degeneration, the now-standard treatment method for the leading cause of legal blindness.
• Performed preclinical research in angiogenesis inhibition & phase 1/2-3 clinical research of Lucentis, the first blockbuster treatment for macular degeneration.
• Performed preclinical & clinical research on intravitreal corticosteroids for retinal diseases, including Triamcinolone, Ozurdex & Iluvien.
• Performed research in ocular blood flow in retinal disorders, macular pigments lutein & zeaxanthin.
• Involved in numerous early & late phase clinical trials of successfully approved retina medications, including Lucentis, Ozurdex, Iluvien, Eylea & Jetrea.
• Served as a medical monitor & on a data safety monitoring committee for national prospective clinical trials.