Szilárd Kiss is the Associate Dean of Clinical Compliance, Chair of the Graduate Faculty Council, Chief of the Retina Service, Vice-Chair of Research, Vice-Chair of Tele-Ophthalmology, Vice-Chair of Clinical Compliance and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.  Szilárd received an undergraduate degree with honors from Columbia College and medical school training at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. Szilárd completed an ophthalmology residency and surgical vitreoretinal fellowship at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, where he was selected by the faculty to serve as the Chief Retina Fellow.  Szilárd’s research career started as an undergraduate at Columbia College where, in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense, he evaluated the implications of microgravity on early developmental patterning with scientific experiments launched on the space shuttle Discovery (STS-70) and the space shuttle Columbia (STS-78).  Currently, Szilárd’s clinical and translational research efforts focus on four broad areas: ocular gene and cellular therapy, novel therapeutic targets for ocular neovascularization, complex vitreoretinal surgical techniques, and retinal imaging.  Szilárd has participated as a principal investigator in over three-dozen prospective clinical trials and laboratory investigations.  He has authored over 270 scientific publications, given over 250 invited lectureships worldwide, and serves on the Editorial Board and as a scientific reviewer to a number of major journals. In addition to his scientific efforts, Szilárd has garnered a reputation as a world renowned medical and surgical vitreoretinal specialist; his clinical practice draws patients from all regions of the world.  For his academic and clinical work, Szilárd has won numerous academic and scientific awards including the Schepens Eye Research Institute Joint Clinical Research Center Pilot Project Grant, the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship Award, the Ronald G. Michels Foundation Fellowship Award, the Paul Kayser International Fellowship Award, American Society of Retina Specialists Rhett Buckler Award, and the Research to Prevent Blindness Physician-Scientist Award.  For his contributions to ophthalmology, Szilárd has received the Honor and Senior Honor Awards from the American Society of Retina Specialists and the Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Szilárd was also among a select group of retina specialists worldwide (and the youngest) to be elected by his peers as a Charter Member of the Retina Hall of Fame. Szilárd has also been named to several regional, national and international Top Doctors lists, including The Ophthalmologist Power List Top 40 Under 40 Ophthalmologist Worldwide, OSN Retina 150 Leading Innovators in Surgical and Medical Retina, Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors, and New York Super Doctors.