Sunali Goyal, M.D., Joins UAMS Department of Ophthalmology
| LITTLE ROCK — Cornea specialist Sunali Goyal, M.D., has joined the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Goyal is also an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology in the College of Medicine. She comes to UAMS after completing a fellowship in cornea and external diseases at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Goyal completed her residency in ophthalmology at UAMS in 2014, and an internship at Harvard Medical School in 2010.
“Dr. Goyal is a gifted professor and ophthalmologist,” said Christopher T. Westfall, M.D., chairman of the UAMS Department of Ophthalmology and institute director. “Her experience in research is also a compelling asset for our department.”
Goyal has authored more than 25 publications and presented at various national and international ophthalmology conferences. She is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and American Medical Association.
“I am delighted to return to UAMS and the Jones Eye Institute,” said Goyal. “I’m eager to invest in both our students and patients.”
Goyal earned her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from Panjab University in India in 2000. She also completed an internship in 2001 and an ophthalmology residency in 2006 at Panjab University.
Goyal’s clinical interests include refractive surgery, cornea and external diseases, limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency, endothelial dysfunction, Fuchs dystrophy, corneal infections, Stevens-Johnson, dry eye, corneal ulcers, and severe viral disease. Her primary research interests include managing corneal pain; using live imaging to explain molecular and cellular mechanisms in corneal immunology, neuro-immunology and inflammation; dry eye disease; and ocular surface reconstruction with stem cells.
She is the only ophthalmologist in Arkansas to provide services for Boston Keratoprosthesis, the most widely used artificial cornea or keratoprosthesis in the world. The treatment option is for patients with corneal disease who are not responsive to a corneal transplant.
Goyal is also experienced with the Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty procedure (DMEK), which is a partial thickness corneal transplant that replaces the innermost portion of the cornea, rather than the full thickness of the cornea, which is done in standard corneal transplants. The DMEK procedure tends to result in better visual results in a shorter period of time.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###