Our Investigators
The physician-investigators of Cascade Medical Research Institute bring decades of combined experience in retinal and corneal disease, leading clinical research from age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy to novel drug delivery and surgical therapies.
Allan A. Hunter, MD
Allan A. Hunter, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist, received his undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and stayed in Baltimore for medical school and residency. Afterward, he completed his medical retinal fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
During this time, he was awarded the prestigious “K Award” studying age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Hunter then moved to California to complete the acclaimed vitreo-retinal surgical fellowship at the University of California, Davis.
As a retinal specialist and experienced member of the ophthalmic research community, Dr. Hunter has served as principal investigator on numerous clinical research projects. He is also an award-winning presenter and a highly published author in multiple ophthalmic journals
Dr. Hunter enjoys running, hiking, biking, and skiing with his wife and four children in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Bala Ambati, MD
Balamurali K. Ambati, MD, PhD, MBA, is an ophthalmologist at Pacific Clear Vision Institute, and a Research Professor at the Knight Campus of University of Oregon. He is a clinician-scientist, conducting research in drug delivery, ocular angiogenesis, and has co-founded iVeena, a startup focused on developing an eyedrop for corneal strengthening and an implant for drop-free cataract surgery.
Dr. Ambati completed his residency at Harvard University and fellowship at Duke University. He has been in practice for 17 years as a cataract, cornea, and refractive surgeon. He was Director of Cornea at Medical College of Georgia for five years and most recently was professor and director of cornea research at the University of Utah. He has performed thousands of cataract surgeries, LASIK, and other vision correction procedures. His expertise includes cataract surgery, advanced lens implants, laser cataract surgery, all-laser LASIK, cornea transplants, Intacs, ICLs, iris repair, and other cornea procedures. Having graduated at the age of 17 from Mount Sinai School of Medicine as the world’s youngest doctor, he was cited in 2015 as the No. 1 eye surgeon in a top 40 under 40 global competition and made the Top 100 Power List of Ophthalmology by The Ophthalmologist magazine.
Dr. Ambati has been recognized for his teaching excellence with a University of Utah Resident Research Mentor Award and the Gold Humanism Award. He served as an instructor at the Harvard Cataract Course. His commitment to community and overseas service is strong. He has conducted free eye screenings in New York, Georgia, and Utah. He also served as a volunteer eye surgeon with ORBIS’ Flying Eye Hospital, SightLife, Sight for the Sightless, and Help Mercy International in Ghana, Zambia, India, Panama, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
Robert M. Beardsley, MD
Dr. Beardsley grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina. He attended Duke University for his undergraduate degree in marine biology and is a die-hard Blue Devil fan. After spending time as a scuba instructor in Belize and a forest ranger in Colorado, he decided to pursue a career in ophthalmology. For his medical degree, he attended Baylor College of Medicine graduating with honors. He completed his residency at the prestigious Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. Dr. Beardsley continued his training with a fellowship in uveitis at Oregon Health and Science University followed by a fellowship in vitreo-retinal surgery at the University of Minnesota.
He has dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts and book chapters on topics such as inflammatory eye disease, retinal detachment repair and retinal vascular disease. He has been an investigator in multiple clinical trials investigating novel therapies for uveitis. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota and enjoys mentoring residents and medical students.
Dr. Beardsley specializes in medical and surgical diseases of the vitreous, retina and choroid including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal detachments and tears. Additionally, he has extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of ocular inflammatory disease such as uveitis and infectious retinitis.
He is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Surgeons and the American Uveitis Society.
He enjoys spending his time with family in the outdoors hiking, biking and skiing.
Muhammad Hassan, MD
Dr. Muhammad Hassan comes to Oregon Eye Consultants after completing his fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at Cincinnati Eye Institute, University of Cincinnati in Ohio. He received his medical degree at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, where he won multiple academic awards, and he completed his Ophthalmology residency at the prestigious Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University.
Dr. Hassan has a strong background and interest in clinical research. During his time before residency, he worked as a research fellow at multiple prestigious institutes including Johns Hopkins Hospital, Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute at University of Nebraska, and finally as chief research fellow at the Nguyen Eye Lab at the Stanford University. He has served as the Associate Managing Editor for the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports. He has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, served as peer-reviewer for many journals, and presented his work at national and international academic meetings.
Dr. Hassan lives in Eugene with his wife, who is also a physician. In his free time, he enjoys landscape and astrophotography, as well as exploring the outdoors and taking long drives with his wife.
John Karth, MD
Dr. Karth is originally from Illinois, and received his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002. Dr. Karth completed his ophthalmology residency training at the University of Rochester in New York.
He completed vitreo-retinal fellowship training at the University of British Columbia/Vancouver General Hospital in 2007, where he also participated in research for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and various retinal and optic nerve pathologies.
He has engaged in research in genetic and progressive retinopathies and published in areas such as the role of angiogenic factors in disease, as well as participating in the education of medical students and residents.
Dr. Karth lives in Eugene. His primary focus is his patients and providing exceptional care. He enjoys the outdoors and photography, and spending time with his wife and two children.