OUR RESEARCH
Science in service of sight.
FORSEE Canada funds clinician-scientists and emerging scholars whose work moves directly from the lab bench to the patient chair.
“We don’t just follow evidence — we generate it. Every FORSEE-funded scholar is embedded in active clinical research from their first day.”
— Dr. Eric S. Tam & Dr. Sohel Somani, Co-Founders
OUR RESEARCH
The Clinic-to-Lab Loop
FORSEE Canada operates at the intersection of clinical care and academic research. Our model is simple: the questions that matter most come from patients in the exam room, and the answers must reach back to them.
FORSEE-funded scholars presenting at national and international conferences
1. Clinical Observation
Surgeons at U Vision Group encounter unresolved clinical questions every day — outcomes that could be better, techniques that need validation, patterns that demand investigation.
3. Publication & Peer Review
Results are submitted to peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences — building the evidence base for Canadian ophthalmology.
2. Research Design
FORSEE scholars work alongside supervising physicians to design studies that address these questions — prospective trials, retrospective analyses, and cost-effectiveness evaluations.
4. Clinical Translation
Findings inform real practice — from Canada’s largest published ReLACS study (3,000+ cases) to cost analyses that shape how cataract surgery is delivered in community settings.
Three Pillars, One Mission
Everything FORSEE Canada does flows through three interconnected pillars.
Training the next generation of eye care leaders through scholarships, mentorship, and hands-on research experience.
Learn about our programs →Funding and conducting research that advances the science of sight, from clinic to lab and back again.
Explore our research →Delivering eye care to underserved communities across the GTA and globally through remote surgical missions.
See our outreach work →Scholar Program at a Glance
11
Research scholarships awarded since 2019
$88K
Invested in emerging eye care researchers
8
Canadian universities represented
Publications & Presentations
FORSEE-funded research has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.
Peer-Reviewed Publications (4)
Lee F, Somani S et al. “Cost analysis of immediate versus delayed bilateral cataract surgery in seniors in community-based ambulatory surgical centres in a post-COVID-19 era.” Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. December 2025.
Cioana M, Patodia Y, Tong L, Chiu HH, Tam ES, Somani S. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2023.
Cioana M, Gupta RB, Tam ES, Chiu HH, Gold I, Somani S. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2023.
Dhirani N, Yang Y, Somani S. Clinical Ophthalmology. 2017; 11:2145-49.
Abstracts & Conference Presentations (11)
Al-Awadi A, Kaba Q, Somani S. COS Annual Meeting, Quebec, 2019.
Kaba Q, Tam E, Somani S, Yuen D. COS Annual Meeting, Quebec, 2019.
Lim CW, Somani S, Chiu H, Maini R, Tam E. COS Annual Meeting, Quebec, 2019.
Pereira A, Somani S, Tam E, Chiu H, Maini R. COS Annual Meeting, Quebec, 2019.
Sharma S, Nithianandan H, Tam E, Chiu H, Maini R, Somani S. COS Annual Meeting, Quebec, 2019.
Lu M, Somani S, Yan P, Tam ES, Chiu HH. ASCRS Annual Meeting, 2020.
Chiu H, Somani S, Tam ES, Jaki Nistha. COS, June 2020.
Somani S, Giunta M, Kalevar A, et al. Canadian Retina Society Annual Meeting, November 2021.
Somani S, Chiu HH, Tam ES, Murtaza F. ESCRS Annual Winter Meeting, February 2022.
Krance SH, Hatamnejad A, Uddin R, Somani S, Tam E, Murtaza F, Chiu HH. ASCRS, Washington DC, April 2022.
Somani S. COS, Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 2022.
Active Research
⚠️ [F-18] Active research projects pending — working title, lead scholar, supervising physician, and one plain-language sentence for each project.
Fund the research that changes lives.
Every dollar invested in FORSEE research moves directly from the lab to the patient chair. Your contribution funds the studies, the scholars, and the clinical breakthroughs that improve how eye care is delivered across Canada.
$250 = one week of scholarship training · $500 = one sight-restoring cataract surgery
CRA Registration: 798255337RR0001
Become a FORSEE Scholar
Our Summer Research Scholarships and Social Eyecare Scholarships place emerging clinicians at the heart of active research. Eight weeks. Real patients. Published outcomes.