Tibor Juhasz

Tibor Juhasz is an American-Hungarian physicist and an academic. He is a professor at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine as well as the CEO of ViaLase.

Juhasz is most known for his work on medical applications of lasers, laser-tissue interactions, tissue biomechanics, and biomedical imaging. He is the recipient of the 2002 Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize for the development and commercialization of femtosecond laser surgical technology as well as the 2022 Golden Goose Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Association of American Universities for introducing femtosecond laser technology to ophthalmology.

Education
Juhasz completed his Diploma in Physics from JATE University of Szeged in 1982 followed by a Ph.D. in Physics from the same institution in 1986. He completed his postdoctoral education at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, at UC Irvine from 1987 to 1990. Later in 2001, he obtained a Doctor of Sciences degree from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Career
Juhasz began his academic career in 1982 at the Technical University of Budapest, where he held various positions, including research assistant in the Department of External Physics from 1982 to 1985 and assistant professor from 1985 to 1986. In 1987, he joined the Department of Physics at the University of California, where he was postgraduate researcher from 1987 to 1990, and assistant researcher physicist from 1990 to 1994. Between 1996 and 1998, he was a senior associate research scientist at Kellogg Eye Center and the Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. From 1998 to 2004, he served as an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan. Since 2004, he has been a professor at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine.

Juhasz co-founded IntraLase Corporation. At IntraLase Corporation, he served as vice president for R&D until 2002 and later took on the role of chief technology officer from 2002 to 2007. Subsequently, in 2008, he co-founded Lensx Lasers. During his time at Lensx Lasers, he served as chief technology officer from 2008 to 2010. From 2010 to 2016, he held the position of vice president of R&D at Alcon LenSx. In 2017, he founded ViaLase, and has since been serving as its CEO.

Research
Juhasz has conducted research in the field of femtosecond laser applications in ophthalmology. With over 25 US patents to his name, his research encompasses projects, including femtosecond laser applications in Corneal Surgery, Cataract Surgery and the development of an image-guided non-invasive femtosecond laser treatment for Glaucoma.

Femtosecond lasers in corneal surgery
Juhasz started his research career investigating interactions between ultrashort laser pulses and matter. This turned his attention towards medical applications of femtosecond lasers. After establishing that femtosecond laser pulses have confined tissue effects with minimized collateral damage he led the development of the first commercially available ophthalmic femtosecond laser. He collaborated with Ron Kurtz, Gerard Mourou, and IntraLase Corp to conduct investigations into the applications of femtosecond lasers in corneal surgery. He demonstrated that the utilization of femtosecond laser technology for flap creation in LASIK surgery offers enhanced safety and yields superior refractive outcomes in comparison to the conventional microkeratome method. Furthermore, his work established that employing femtosecond laser technology for corneal transplantation offers distinct benefits in comparison to conventional methods.

Femtosecond laser cataract surgery
In collaboration with, Ron Kurtz, Zoltan Nagy, and Alcon LenSx, Juhasz worked on the development and investigation of clinical applications of femtosecond lasers in cataract surgery. He led the design and development of the first clinical cataract femtosecond laser. Ultimately, he demonstrated that the mechanical strength of femtosecond laser capsulotomy is on par with that of manual capsulotomy, but with a significantly reduced variability in strength. Consequently, these studies significantly decreased the likelihood and rate of capsular tears and other complications.

Non-invasive OCT image-guided femtosecond laser treatment for glaucoma
Concentrating his research efforts further on the clinical applications of the ophthalmic femtosecond laser technology, Juhasz undertook a research project supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which aimed to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) by establishing partial thickness channels from the front chamber (AC) to the area beneath the conjunctiva through the sclera. Although the channels proved to be efficient, his early animal experiments showed a swift healing response, which subsequently constrained the long-term efficacy of these treatments. To counter this, he developed a micron-resolution OCT imaging technology. Later, he demonstrated that by using micron-resolution OCT imaging, it is possible to precisely identify the trabecular meshwork and create precise drainage pathways that connect the anterior chamber to Schlemm's canal. Additionally, he showed in preserved human cadaver eyes that the femtosecond laser-generated drainage pathways have the potential to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP). His company ViaLase developed a clinical device that, in initial human trials, demonstrated a highly favorable safety record and delivered effective, long-lasting results over a two-year follow-up period.

In addition to his work in clinical applications of femtosecond lasers, Juhasz also performed important research in the field of corneal biomechanics and in the field of the treatment of keratoconus.

Awards and honors

 * 2002 – Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize, Berthold Leibinger Stiftung
 * 2013 – Doctor Honoris Causa, Semmelweis University
 * 2016 – External Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
 * 2022 – Golden Goose Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Association of American Universities
 * 2023 – Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year, UC Irvine