Dr. Aaron Nagiel MD, PhD
Practice: Children's Hospital
Location: Los Angeles, California
Website: https://www.chla.org/
Phone: 323-361-2347
Email: anagiel@chla.usc.edu
As a surgeon specializing in retinal disorders of childhood and adolescence, Dr. Aaron Nagiel joins The Vision Center with a commitment to providing the highest quality care in a compassionate manner to his patients and their families. He complements this clinical expertise with an active laboratory and translational research program that is developing novel therapeutic approaches for children with diseases of the retina and vitreous.
Dr. Aaron Nagiel earned his bachelor?s degree from Harvard University summa cum laude, and then underwent combined MD and PhD training at Cornell University and The Rockefeller University in New York City. His PhD work was supported by an NIH fellowship and contributed to our understanding of how synapses form in the developing brain. After an internship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Nagiel completed both ophthalmology residency and vitreoretinal fellowship at the renowned Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.
He leads an active research program aimed towards developing better ways to treat pediatric retinal diseases through state-of-the-art imaging, advanced surgical devices, and novel treatments including gene therapy and stem cell-based therapy. He has authored two book chapters on the therapeutic use of stem cells for retinal disease and published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Nagiel serves as a reviewer for major ophthalmology journals and an editor of the textbook Cellular Therapies for Retinal Disease: A Strategic Approach. He is a recipient of the prestigious Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship and the Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Foundation Award, as well as numerous departmental awards.
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Dr. Nagiel specializes in the medical and surgical management of retinal diseases, including retinopathy of prematurity, retinal detachment, ocular trauma, familial exudative vitreoretinopathy, Coats disease, Norrie disease, X-linked retinoschisis, retinitis pigmentosa, Leber congenital amaurosis, Stickler syndrome, persistent fetal vasculature, and other pediatric retinal disorders. In collaboration with the Center for Personalized Medicine, he leads a state-of-the-art program specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of genetic eye disease, including gene therapy surgery.
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Medical School:
Weill Cornell Medical College (MD)
Graduate School:
The Rockefeller University (PhD)
Internship:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Residency:
Stein Eye Institute/ UCLA
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Fellowship:
Stein Eye Institute/ UCLA
Certification:
American Board of Ophthalmology
Professional Memberships:
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Awards:
2013 Robert E. Christensen Research Award, Stein Eye Institute
2014 ARVO National Eye Institute Travel Grant
2014, 2016 Excellence in Research Award, Stein Eye Institute
2014, 2015 Pepose-Saltzman Young Investigator ARVO Award, Stein Eye Institute
2015 Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship
2015 Society of Heed Fellows
2016 Fostering Innovative Retina Stars of Tomorrow (FIRST) Fellowship
2016 Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Foundation Award
2019 Baxter Foundation Fellowship
2021 Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award

FAQ
At the Jack McGovern Coats’ Disease Foundation, we are often contacted by anxious parents or patients who are seeking information after receiving a diagnosis of Coats’ Disease. The questions below are provided as a resource to assist you as you and your doctor decide the best approach for treatment. These questions do not constitute any form of medical advice or diagnosis. Each patient is unique. An experienced retinal specialist who has examined the patient is the best source of information for diagnosis and treatment. We always recommend getting a second opinion.
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Ahead of any treatments or procedures, it is important to ask yourself and the doctor the following questions:
How do you know that this is Coats’ Disease?
Has your doctor treated other patients with Coats’ Disease?
Have you sought a second opinion? If not, please consult our Doctor Directory for knowledgeable doctors in your area.
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What Stage of Coats’ Disease is he/she in?
Will his/her vision get worse over time?
Will the eye have pain?
Will his/her eye start to turn out? Is muscle corrective surgery an option?
Are cataracts likely?
How likely is glaucoma? (due to retinal detachment)
Is there calcification?
What is the anticipated disease progression?
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Is there a thorough vision exam available?
Where is the vision affected? (central/peripheral/distance)
Does he/she have depth perception? (3D visibility)
What about the non-Coats’ eye?
To what extent is his/her vision affected?
Will we be able to use this as a baseline to measure progress/decline?
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