Dahr, Gavvala named to leadership positions
McGovern Medical School and UTHealth Houston Neurosciences have announced the addition of two faculty, Sam Dahr, MD, and Jay Gavvala, MD, to a pair of leadership positions.
Sam Dahr, MD
Dahr, a professor in the Ruiz Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, joins the medical school as the new director for the Retina Division in the department. He also will lead efforts to add retina and uveitis fellowship training to the department. Dahr joined the faculty at the Medical School by way of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and the Dean McGee Eye Institute.
Since 2007, Dahr has served as the principal retinal consultant to the ophthalmic device division of the United States Food and Drug Administration for retina-related clinical trials, receiving a Certificate of Commendation for Public Service in 2013. He recently completed a four-year term on the FDA Ophthalmic Device Panel and is currently serving a second term on the writing committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology uveitis textbook.
Dahr received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1999 before completing a residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in 2003. He completed fellowships in medical retina and uveitis and ocular immunology from the National Eye Institute in 2005 and a vitreoretinal surgery and ocular oncology fellowship from the Cincinnati Eye Institute in 2006. He is a 2022 recipient of the Ed Calhoon, MD, Leadership in Medicine Award from the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
Jay Gavvala, MD
Gavvala, an associate professor in the Department of Neurology, has been named the co-director for the Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Center. Magnetoencephalography is part of a pre-surgical evaluation, usually in an outpatient setting, for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy for the localization of the epileptogenic zone and critical functional areas. He joined the faculty at McGovern by way of Baylor College of Medicine.
Gavvala specializes in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, including surgical and stimulation-based therapies such as stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), critical care EEG, and MEG. His research interests include MEG, high-frequency oscillations (HFOs), and EEG education.
Gavvala received his medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston after completing his master of science in clinical investigation at Northwestern University. He complete a residency in neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he served as chief resident, before completing a clinical fellowship in neurophysiology/intraoperative monitoring as well.