George O. Waring IV, MD, FACS is the founder and Medical Director of the Waring Vision Institute in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Dr. Waring IV has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the College of Engineering and Science at Clemson University and an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, the Director of Refractive Surgery at Medical University of South Carolina, Storm Eye Institute and the Medical Director at Magill Vision Center. He has also served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Waring IV is a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology and has received numerous awards and distinctions for excellence in ophthalmology including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, the Distinguished Lans Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery, and the Presidential Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery. He has received the Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Waring IV has been recognized as one of the top 100 most influential figures in the world of ophthalmology by 2018 Ophthalmologist Power List, one of the nation’s Top Doctors in Ophthalmology by Castle Connolly’s Guide to America’s Top Ophthalmologists, and as a Top Ophthalmologist and Leading Physician of the World by the International Association of Ophthalmologists. Dr. Waring IV is a founding member of the American and European College of Ophthalmic Surgeons and the Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery Society and the Vanguard Ophthalmology Society. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons, and serves on the executive committee for both the International Society of Refractive Surgery and the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery, as well as being active in numerous other professional societies. Dr. Waring IV participates in numerous professional committees, including the Program Director for the International Society of Refractive Surgery, and the Refractive Surgery Clinical Committee of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He also serves as the course director for the American Academy of Ophthalmology LASIK course and the Chairman of the Refractive Surgery Basic Clinical Science Course for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Waring IV is an editorial board member for both the Journal of Refractive Surgery and the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Dr. Waring IV completed a dual degree in Economics and Ecology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by his Doctor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Waring IV served as Administrative Chief Resident of Ophthalmology at the State University of New York. He completed his subspecialty fellowship training in Cornea and Refractive Surgery under the world-renowned mentorship of Daniel S. Durrie, MD in Overland Park, Kansas. He is happily married to Karolinne Maia Rocha, MD, PhD, who is the Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at the Medical University of South Carolina. They enjoy time with their son, George O. Waring V, and daughter, Maia.Karolinne Maia Rocha, MD, PhD is a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology, a member of the American Ophthalmological Society, and a subspecialist in Cataract, Cornea & Refractive Surgery. Dr. Rocha is currently the director of the Cornea & Refractive Surgery division at the Medical University of South Carolina, Storm Eye Institute in Charleston, South Carolina. She serves as associate program director for the Storm Eye Institute Residency Program, and Cornea & Refractive Surgery fellowship program director. Dr. Rocha has received awards and distinctions for excellence in Ophthalmology including the the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Achievement Award in 2012, the International Society of Refractive Surgery Waring Memorial Award in 2016, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Teaching Excellence Recognition Award in 2013, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Senior Achievement Award in 2019. She has been recognized as a “Top Ophthalmologist and Leading Physician of the World,” included in the Power List 2017, voted by 36,000 readers of the international publication The Ophthalmologist. Dr. Rocha is active in clinical research, having published over 300 scientific works including peer reviewed publications, book chapters, review articles and abstracts in society meetings. She serves on the program committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology Refractive Surgery Basic and Clinical Science Course and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Cornea clinical committee. As a member of the executive subcommittee of the International Society of Refractive Surgery International Council, Dr. Rocha is active in teaching at national and international conferences. She has served as a course instructor at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Laser Refractive Skills Transfer Course since 2009 and teaches courses on Optics, Presbyopia, Corneal Topography, and Complex cataract surgery. Dr. Rocha is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Refractive Surgery. Dr. Rocha received her medical degree from the State University of Londrina, Brazil in 2002 followed by residency training in ophthalmology at Federal University of São Paulo, and was certified by the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology in 2005. Subsequently, she completed her fellowship and PhD thesis “Optical aberrations in pseudophakia and cataract”, also at University of São Paulo. She completed her second Ophthalmology residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cole Eye Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Rocha completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Cornea & Refractive Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in 2009 where she worked intimately with adaptive optics technology. Dr. Rocha completed a second postdoctoral fellowship in Cornea & Refractive Surgery at Emory University in 2010 where she played roles in the lead investigational studies on corneal collagen cross-linking and topography-guided laser ablation. Her research continues to focus on intraocular lenses, aberrations, ectasia, pseudoaccommodation, and presbyopia.
