Medical Director

Specialization: Consultant Ophthalmologist and Vitreoretinal Surgeon

GCAA Approved Specialist Aeromedical Medical Examiner

Years of Experience:

Dr. Ammar Safar is American Board Certified in Ophthalmology and is a highly experienced consultant in

vitreoretinal diseases and surgery. Dr. Ammar is the Medical Director of Moorfields Eye Hospitals in the

UAE. He is based in Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai.

Dr. Ammar undertook his medical training in Syria before moving to the United States for post-graduate

training. He specialised in Ophthalmology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he also

served as a Chief Resident. He then acquired an additional 2-year fellowship training in Vitreoretinal

Diseases & Surgery at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, USA. Dr.

Ammar then went on to hold the position of Assistant and later Associate Professor and Director of

Vitreoretinal Surgery at the Department of Ophthalmology, Jones Eye Institute, University of Arkansas

for Medical Sciences, in the United States. He then relocated to the UAE where he was a Consultant

Vitreoretinal Surgeon and President of Medical Staff at a private general hospital in Dubai.

In addition to his work in private practice, Dr. Ammar has undertaken research and clinical trials in areas

such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related eye diseases, and published and presented extensively. His

research work has also resulted in advances in retinal vascular diseases (discovering new management

options for diabetic retinopathy and vascular occlusive disorders) and in macular degeneration (new

approaches for treatment of exudative macular degeneration).

Among his many honorary awards, Dr. Ammar was the inaugural recipient of The Martha Wood Bentley

endowed Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Arkansas. He is a member of a number of

professional associations including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of

Retina Specialists, European Society of Retina Specialists, American Society of Cataract and Refractive

Surgery, The Association for Research In Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Arab-American Medical

Association, Research to Prevent Blindness, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.