Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado has over 30 years of experience taking care of patients in Colorado. We focus solely on the care of all medical and surgical diseases of the retina and are the only practice south of Denver to provide dedicated retina care.
Dr. James Luu is a native of Southern California. He attended undergraduate studies at the University of California at Irvine and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences. He received the Dean’s Grant and graduated with AOA honors from the New York Medical College. After medical school, Dr. Luu returned to California for his internship at UCLA, then completed his Ophthalmology residency training at the Stanford University. Following his residency, he completed fellowship training in medical and surgical diagnostic and treatment of retinal diseases at the National Retina Institute in Baltimore, MD.
Upon completion of his fellowship training, Dr. Luu joined the National Retina Institute as director of fellowship training and participated in Ophthalmology resident training at the George Washington University. He has published research in peer review journals, participated in several clinical trials and has given numerous ACCME lectures to Optometrists and Ophthalmologists at national meetings. Dr. Luu came to Colorado Springs and joined Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado in 2003. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of vitreous and retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, uveitis, macular hole, epiretinal membrane, retinal detachment, and retinal vascular diseases.
Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Ryan M. Rich, M.D. received a Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University. He completed medical school and residency Saint Louis University where he served as Chief Resident. He completed subspecialty training in vitreoretinal disease and surgery at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida.
He has published articles on a broad range of adult and pediatric retinal conditions. He also participated in ground-breaking research on the use of Avastin in patients with macular degeneration and other disorders. He has presented at several national and local meetings for both general ophthalmologists and retinal specialists.
Dr. Rich specializes in all medical and surgical retinal diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, vascular diseases of the retina, uveitis, vitreoretinal interface abnormalities such as epiretinal membrane and macular hole, retinal detachment, ocular trauma, and complications of anterior segment surgery.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Sarrafizadeh attended Northwestern University Medical School’s Medical Scientist Training Program where he obtained his M.D. degree as well as a Ph.D. in Physiology. He remained at Northwestern University Medical Center for an Internship in Internal Medicine followed by residency training in Ophthalmology. Dr. Sarrafizadeh completed fellowship training in Vitreoretinal Surgery at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan before moving to northern Michigan where he practiced for 13 years establishing a retina service that serves the upper half of the state. He joined Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado in November of 2014.
Dr. Sarrafizadeh specializes in the management of a variety of medical, surgical, and inflammatory retinal conditions. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and has presented his findings at national and international conferences. He is the recipient of a number of awards for clinical and basic science research excellence.
Stanford C. Taylor, M.D. is originally from Oregon and attended college at Brigham Young University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physiology. Thereafter, Dr. Taylor enrolled in medical school at Oregon Health and Science University, where he graduated with honors and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. Dr. Taylor then moved to St. Louis for his training in ophthalmology through the Department of Visual Sciences at Washington University. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Taylor further specialized in ophthalmology through a vitreoretinal surgical fellowship at the Oregon Health and Science University Casey Eye Institute. Dr. Taylor then moved to Colorado where he joined Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado.
Dr. Taylor’s practice focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of vitreoretinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, epiretinal membrane, macular hole, retinal vascular disease, and intraocular inflammatory disease.
In addition to his many clinical interests, Dr. Taylor has been an advocate for ophthalmology on a national level. He is well published and has presented the results of collaborative research projects on various topics including intraocular infections, the importance of transparency with physician-industry relationships, and surgical outcomes in patients with various vitreoretinal diseases. He has also been part of many clinical trials to surgically deliver gene therapies to individuals with inherited retinal diseases.
Adam Martidis, M.D. attended Duke University for his undergraduate studies, majoring in biomedical and electrical engineering. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh. Following graduation, he completed a residency at Indiana University where he served as chief resident in his final year. During his residency, he earned the Grayson Leadership Award, an honor given to only three prior graduating residents in the history of the training program. He was then awarded a vitreo-retinal fellowship at the New England Eye Center in Boston. Upon completion of this two-year fellowship program, he accepted an academic position at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, an internationally recognized eye institution. Here, Dr. Martidis trained numerous residents and retina fellows in surgical and medical retinal diseases in one of the largest and most highly regarded programs in the nation. He has participated in multiple research studies, including personal projects and national clinical trials.
Dr. Martidis is a pioneer in managing macular edema using an injection of corticosteroid medication into the vitreous cavity. He published the first article on the use of this technique in the management of diabetic macular edema as a complication of diabetic retinopathy. He also has broad expertise in the management of other medical retinal conditions (macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, central serous retinopathy) and vitreo-retinal surgery (retinal detachment, epiretinal membrane, macular hole).
In his spare time, Dr. Martidis enjoys playing guitar, mountain biking, and spending time with his wife and three children.
Dr. Cecinio (Nikko) Ronquillo, Jr grew up in Manila, Philippines. He completed the MD/PhD program at the University of Utah and received his PhD in Neuroscience under the tutelage of Professor Wolfgang Baehr developing an animal model for a rare inherited retinal disease. For his work, he received a National Institute of Health grant to support his ideas and research work. During his medical school, he also co-founded a nanomaterials company, Navillum Nanotechnologies.
Dr. Ronquillo then completed his residency in ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah. During residency, he was selected as an ARCS scholar continuing his research on macular telangiectasia (MacTel) and other inherited retinal diseases. He was Chief Resident in his final year of residency. He then remained at the Moran Eye Center as a vitreoretinal surgery fellow and was selected as one of the Heed Fellows in the country. Dr. Ronquillo then joined the Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado after fellowship – joining an already distinguished group of retina specialists.
Dr. Ronquillo specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of vitreous and retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinal detachments, diabetic retinopathy, macular holes, epiretinal membranes, retinal vascular diseases, uveitis and inherited retinal diseases. He has published numerous peer-reviewed research papers and book chapters and has presented his research work in national and international meetings.
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Member of American Society of Retina Specialists
Member of Women in Ophthalmology
Member of American Academy of Ophthalmology
Member of The Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology
Member of The American Medical Association
Member of The American Medical Women’s Association
Narine Viruni, M.D., attended University of California, Los Angeles and graduated with Bachelor of Science in physiology. She earned her medical degree at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. She then completed ophthalmology residency at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, and received multiple awards, including the Heed Fellowship. Dr. Viruni continued her training at Johns Hopkins by further specializing and completing a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery. She then accepted a faculty position at Johns Hopkins as Assistant Chief of Service and codirector of the ocular trauma unit. In this role, she managed patients with complex retinal pathology and trained residents and fellows in surgical and medical retinal diseases. Dr. Viruni has participated in multiple research studies and presented at national and international meetings.
Dr. Viruni specializes in diagnosis and treatment of vitreoretinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular disease, retinal detachment, epiretinal membrane, and macular hole.
Dr. Viruni is looking forward to joining Retina Consultants of Southern Colorado in summer/fall of 2023.
