
Dimitri Azar

Dimitri Azar M.D. (born 1959) is an American ophthalmologist, professor, and businessman who leads Twenty Twenty Therapeutics, a joint venture established by Santen and Verily. Dr. Azar has held roles at Novartis and Verily, Alphabet's Life sciences research organization. He served as dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) from 2011 to 2018.
Education.
Azar received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Dr. Azar practiced at the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Medicine, and completed his fellowship and residency training at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School, where he was a tenured professor of ophthalmology (2003-2006) and senior scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute.
Dr. Azar also holds an honorary master's degree from Harvard, as well as an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Academic positions.
Azar has taught as a professor of ophthalmology, bioengineering and pharmacology at UIC, where he also served as head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and B.A. Field Endowed Chair of Ophthalmologic Research. He is a member of the American Ophthalmological Society, former president of the Chicago Ophthalmological Society, president-elect of the Chicago Medical Society, and former Trustee of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
Commercial roles.
Dr. Azar is the Chief Executive Officer of Twenty Twenty Therapeutics, a joint venture between Verily Life Sciences and Santen. 
Azar was a non-executive member of Novartis' Board of Directors from 2012 till 2019. He was also a member of the Audit and Compliance Committee and the Research & Development Committee.
Dr. Azar was a senior director of ophthalmological innovation at Verily, where ophthalmological projects include the development of smart contact lenses, including lenses designed to assist those with presbyopia and an intraocular lens. He was on the board of Verb Surgical Inc. and sits on the board of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society in the US. He also sits on the board of the Himalayan Cataract Project. 
Awards and recognition.
Dr. Azar is an internationally recognized ophthalmic surgeon and prolific researcher. He has been named one of The Best Doctors in America and one of the Castle Connolly Top Doctors in America annually since 1994. He holds multiple committee positions with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is a member of the American Ophthalmological Association and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Ophthalmological Society and the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He has received multiple leadership awards, including the 2009 Lans Distinguished Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery, and the University of Illinois at Chicago Scholar Award. Dr. Azar was awarded the Life Achievement award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his sustained services to the organization. The International Society of Refractive Surgery, in 2013, awarded him with the Jose Barraquer Award and has also received the University of Illinois at Chicago Scholar Award, and the Distinguished Professor award in 2012. In 2016, Weill Cornell Medical College awarded Dr. Azar with the John McLean Medal. 
From 2008 to 2010, "Chicago Magazine," in cooperation with Castle Connelly Medical Ltd., listed Dr. Azar as one of the top doctors in Ophthalmology. In 2016, he received the Castroviejo Award in recognition of exceptional contributions in support of the Society’s mission from the American Academy of Opthalmology, as well as the Ramon Castroviejo Award from the Cornea Society. On June 27, 2019, he received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Balamand, in recognition of his significant lifetime achievements as a world-renown scholar, creative inventor, academician, and eye Surgeon. 