Dr. Muna Ahmad
MD, Diplomat American Board of Ophthalmology
Consultant Ophthalmologist,
Head of Department & Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Shalamar Institute of Health Sciences, Lahore
Department of Ophthalmology
About Dr. Muna
Dr. Muna Ahmad is the Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Shalamar Hospital and is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shalamar Medical and Dental College. She shares the vision of Shalamar to provide widespread and equitable accessibility of ophthalmology services in Pakistan.
Dr. Muna earned her medical degree with multiple honors from the Aga Khan University Medical College. She completed a research Fellowship in Ocular Immunology at Harvard University’s Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary in Boston, USA. She was then selected for the highly competitive internship in Internal Medicine at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Subsequently, she trained at Boston University’s rigorous Ophthalmology Residency Programme at Boston Medical Center. It was here she was exposed to the plight of the City’s underprivileged communities. She went on to join the faculty at Tufts University/ New England Eye Center (NEEC) as an Assistant Professor and was selected to lead the NEEC Satellite Ophthalmology unit in Leominster, USA.
Following her lifelong passion to serve underserved populations, Dr. Muna and her family moved to Pakistan where she worked at the largest provider of free eye care in the country, LRBT. She was then invited to join the faculty at SMDC and Shalamar Hospital. After a year, she was appointed as Head of the Department. Her vision is to lead the Department into one of the finest ophthalmology institutions in its class.
Dr. Muna’s surgical focus is cataract and anterior segment surgery. She diagnoses and treats a variety of complex medical diseases in young adults and geriatric patients. These include glaucoma, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. She is passionate about educating the masses about common eye diseases and has worked to provide free eye care in rural areas of Punjab.
Dr. Muna has the unique honor of being one of the only USA-trained comprehensive ophthalmologists in Lahore. She is the author of 16 peer-reviewed publications, a book chapter and electronic publications. Dr. Muna is a member of several professional organizations and has successfully completed the rigorous recertification criteria of the American Board of Ophthalmology.
- Head, Department of Ophthalmology, Division of Surgery, Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan
- Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan
Dr. Muna’s clinical practice involves anterior segment diseases including cataracts and cataract surgery, glaucoma (medical, lasers) and diabetic eye disease and its treatment. She also treats numerous other routine and complex eye problems.
Dr Muna has interest in basic research in the field of Ophthalmology. She has previously worked in relation to uveitis and ocular immunology.
2006-2009 Resident, Boston Medical Center, Ophthalmology, Boston, MA, USA
2005-2006 Intern, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
2003-2005 Fellow, Ocular Immunology and Uveitis, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA
2002 The Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
1996 William Smith College, Geneva, NY, USA, BS, Biology & Biochemistry double major with High Honors
2013 American Board of Ophthalmology
- Member, Mentor Committee, Shalamar Medical and Dental College, 2021 – present
- Member, Core Committee, Johns Hopkins Institute (JHI), Shalamar Medical and Dental College, 2021 – present
- Attended – Annual Conference of Pakistan Association of plastic surgery, in 2015-2019,2022,2023 presented paper in 2017 conference, have won 3rd prize in poster presentation in 2022 conference.
- Presented paper & achieved best presenter award in 14th Annual Meeting of Pakistan Society of hand surgery, December,9-10th 2017.
2002 High Honors, Medical Student Elective: Advanced Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
2001 Honors, Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The Aga Khan University Medical College
2002 Begum Shafiqa Zia-ul-Haq Scholarship, The Aga Khan University Medical College
1999 Honors, Community Health Sciences, The Aga Khan University Medical College
1997 High Honors in Biology, William Smith College
1996 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant, WIlliam Smith College
1995 Leon Q Brooks Scholarship, William Smith College
1992 Helen Heather Scholar
Book Chapters
Ahmed M, Zein G, Khawaja F, Foster CS. Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2004;23(6):579-592. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2004.05.005
Electronic Articles
Fahd Anzaar, Filipe, Ahmed M, C. Stephen Foster. The frequency of other autoimmune disorders in patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid. 2011;90(3):e253-e254. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-3768.2011.02174.x
Original Articles
1. Lara-Castillo N, Zandi S, Nakao S, et al. Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Reduces Vascular Leakage and Choroidal Neovascularization. The American Journal of Pathology. 2009;175(6):2343-2350. doi:https://doi.org/10.2353/ajpath.2009.090439
2. Ahmed M, Gittinger JW. Optic Neuritis. Contemporary Ophthalmology. 2009. Sep;17(8)1-8.
3. Ahmed M, Niffenegger JH, Jakobiec FA, et al. Diagnosis of limited ophthalmic wegener granulomatosis: distinctive pathologic features with ANCA test confirmation. 2007;28(1):35-46. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-007-9109-y
4. Durrani K, Ahmed M, Foster CS. Adamantiades-Behcet disease: diagnosis and current concepts in management of ocular manifestations. Comprehensive ophthalmology update. 2007;8(4):225-233. Accessed June 20, 2023. https://europepmc.org/article/med/17999836
5. Ahmed M and Foster CS. Steroid therapy for ocular inflammatory disease. Focal Points, American Academy of Ophthalmology 2006 Sep; 24;7:1-13.
6. Paredes I, Ahmed M, Foster CS. Immunomodulatory Therapy for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Patients as First-Line Therapy. Ocular Immunology and Inflammation. 2006;14(2):87-90. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09273940500536766
7. Kiss S, Ahmed M, Letko E, Foster CS. Long-term follow-up of patients with birdshot retinochoroidopathy treated with corticosteroid-sparing systemic immunomodulatory therapy. Ophthalmology. 2005;112(6):1066-1071. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2004.12.036
8. Paredes, I., Ahmed, M., & Foster, C. S. Diagnostic Evaluations to Guide Therapy for Adamantiades-Behçet’s Disease. Contemporary Ophthalmology, 2005; 4(1), 1-8.
9. Androudi S, Letko E, M.E. Meniconi, Thekla Papadaki, Ahmed M, C. Stephen Foster. Safety and Efficacy of Intravitreal Triamcinolone Acetonide for Uveitic Macular Edema. 2005;13(2-3):205-212. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09273940590933511
10. Androudi S, Ahmed M, Periklis Brazitikos, C. Stephen Foster. Valsalva retinopathy: diagnostic challenges in a patient with pars-planitis. Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica. 2005;83(2):256-257. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0420.2005.00456.x
11. Androudi S, Ahmed M, Fiore T, Brazitikos P, Foster CS. Combined pars plana vitrectomy and phacoemulsification to restore visual acuity in patients with chronic uveitis. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2005;31(3):472-478. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2004.06.040
12. Topalkara A, Ahmed M, Foster CS. Highlights of Modern Diagnosis in Uveitis – Part 2: Useful imaging and Molecular Diagnostic Studies. Highlights of Ophthalmology, 2005, 33:2:17-19.
13. Ahmed M, Zein G, Khawaja F, Foster CS. Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2004;23(6):579-592. doi:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2004.05.005
14. Ahmed M, Androudi S, Brazitikos P, Paredes I, Foster CS. 360 degrees iris-ciliary body B-cell lymphoma masquerading as post-cataract uveitis. Semin Ophthalmol. 2004;19(3-4):127-129. doi:10.1080/08820530490882706
15. Perez VL, Chavala SH, Ahmed M, et al. Ocular manifestations and concepts of systemic vasculitides. Surv Ophthalmol. 2004;49(4):399-418. doi:10.1016/j.survophthal.2004.04.008
16. Alam M, Akhtar YN, Ali SS, et al. Seasonal variation in bacterial pathogens isolated from stool samples in Karachi, Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc. 2003;53(3):125-129.
Presentations
1. Case presentation: Pseudotumor cerebri. At: New England Ophthalmologic Society sub-specialty (Neuro-ophthalmology) meeting. 2008.
2. Poster: 360o Iris-Ciliary Body Lymphoma masquerading as post-cataract uveitis. At: Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the European Society of Ophthalmology, New Orleans, LA. Oct 2004
3. Lecture: Steroid Therapy- Principles of Management At: Diagnosis and Management of Uveitis: Concepts From Evidence-based Medicine, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA. Oct 2004
4. Lecture: Nuclear Signaling and Transcriptional Control Immunology Seminar, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, September 2004
5. Case Presentation: Intraocular Lymphoma At: Foster Ocular Immunology Society (FOIS), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 2004
6. Poster: Pars-plana vitrectomy and phacoemulsification surgery and as a combined procedure to restore visual acuity in patients with chronic uveitis. At: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 2004
7. Poster: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in patients with uveitis.
8. At: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). 2004.
9. Poster: Immunomodulatory Therapy for VKH patients as a First Line Therapy. At: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). 2004.