We
accelerate ophthalmic drug development. We give every team building a
treatment for eye disease — from seed-stage biotech to global pharma — faster,
sharper evidence of whether — and how — their therapy works, so they can move
at the speed of their science, not the speed of their service providers.
Company Story
10 Years of Imaging Innovation - Founded 2016
The speed of your science.
Mission-led clinical partnership
Leadership with domain expertise
Global perspective on trial execution
Who We Are
Built to accelerate ophthalmic studies with clarity, rigor, and responsive collaboration.
Learn how OIRRC brings together scientific leadership, operational discipline, and purpose-built technology to support sponsors from study design through final analysis.
Mission
Vision
A future
where ophthalmic clinical trials are half the size, half the duration, and
half the cost — where winners are identified at seed, not at Phase 2b.
Where more molecules get tested, more endpoints get validated, and more
therapies reach patients — across the full spectrum of eye disease, from
the most common to the most rare.
Our Founding Story
Founded in 2016 in Sunnyvale, California by Dr. Yasir Sepah. OIRRC was built to solve a specific gap: ophthalmic drug developers needed evidence faster than traditional reading centers could deliver it, without trading away scientific rigor.
Ten years in, we operate across three continents, support 60+ trials, and have become the ophthalmic imaging core lab that teams choose when they refuse to trade speed for scientific credibility.
Scale & Facts
- 333 W Maude Ave. #108, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
- Founded 2016 - 10 years of innovation
- 3 continents, 24/7 global operation
- 50+ trials (do not round up)
- 60+ team members
- SOC 2 - HIPAA - GDPR - ISO
Careers
We're always interested in meeting talented people. Send your CV to:
We don't have a dedicated careers page - we prefer direct conversations with candidates who share our vision.
Our Leadership
Dr. Yasir Sepah
Founder & Principal
Dr. Yasir Sepah is the Founder and Principal of OIRRC. He holds a faculty position at the Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, and trained at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on retinal imaging, biomarker discovery, and decentralized clinical trial technology. He has authored 100+ peer-reviewed publications, leads multiple NIH-funded research programs, and founded OIRRC in 2016 to bring scientific rigor and operational speed together for ophthalmic clinical trials.
Dr. Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc
Co-Founder
Dr. Quan Dong Nguyen is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, and an international leader in early-phase clinical trials for retinal and inflammatory diseases. His foundational work on aflibercept and ranibizumab helped pave the way for FDA approval of these gold-standard therapies. A prolific Principal Investigator, he has led numerous multi-center trials (including the READ and SAVE series) and previously served as Chairman of Ophthalmology at the University of Nebraska. He is the Inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports.
Dr. Amir Hariri
Senior Scientific Officer
Dr. Amir Hariri leads OIRRC's retina image reading center, providing high-quality grading and analysis of retinal imaging data for clinical trials and research. He brings more than 12 years of experience as a retina consultant in private practice, with a subspecialty in medical retina and two clinical fellowships at UCLA and Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He has authored multiple papers in high-impact ophthalmology journals and has received awards and grants for his clinical and scientific work. His focus at OIRRC is on advancing retina disease monitoring and grading methodology — particularly in AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and inherited retinal diseases.
Hikmet Yucel
Director of Signal Processing
Hikmet Yücel leads OIRRC’s signal processing and algorithmic infrastructure, overseeing automated QC and multimodal image analysis for OCT, OCTA, and FAF. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in lesion segmentation and sensor fusion. Before entering ophthalmology, Hikmet led R&D in autonomous robotics and served as a Flight Test Onboard Manager for military aircraft. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Middle East Technical University.
Kathleen Caldwell
Associate Director, Compliance & Quality
Kathleen Caldwell leads Compliance and Quality at OIRRC, owning SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO programs and ensuring trial operations meet regulatory standards. Her work spans compliance framework design, audit readiness, and the quality documentation infrastructure that supports OIRRC's regulatory-grade data packages. Kathleen has worked in Ophthalmology for 10 years and research for 20 years. She also has research experience in Genetic Medicine.
Mauro Campigotto
Head of Product Development, EMEA
Mauro Campigotto leads Product Development and European business development at OIRRC, based in Padua, Italy. He brings extensive experience in ophthalmic imaging from his prior work at NIDEK Technologies, including contributions to microperimetry, confocal microscopy, and diagnostic imaging product development. At OIRRC, he owns the European sponsor and CRO relationships, product strategy, and brand execution. He holds an Executive Course credential in Marketing and Communication from CUOA Business School.
Philip Cherian
Alliances Director, Growth
Philip Cherian leads growth, marketing, and strategic alliances at OIRRC. He brings deep experience in healthcare IT, partnership development, and go-to-market strategy from prior roles including AWS Alliance NAM Director at Forgeahead, Regional Manager at medavis, and Health Information Systems Consultant at Avagama. At OIRRC, he owns customer acquisition, sponsor and CRO relationships, and the commercial engine. He holds an MBA from S.P. Jain School of Global Management.
Dr. Rubbia Afridi, MBBS, MPH
Director of Clinical Operations
Dr. Rubbia Afridi is a physician and public health expert who directs the operational strategy for Phase I–IV global clinical trials, with a focus on gene therapy and biotechnology. She manages cross-functional teams across AI, IT, and biostatistics to ensure regulatory data integrity. A certified Senior Image Reader, Dr. Afridi brings over a decade of ophthalmic research experience to OIRRC. She holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an MBBS from Pakistan.
Sean Baluyot, CCRP
Senior Project Manager
A Senior Project Manager with 9+ years of clinical research and project management experience, Sean Baluyot brings a comprehensive understanding of study execution from start-up through close-out. His background in ophthalmic imaging and clinical operations enables him to support sites both remotely and on-site, ensuring high-quality data capture in real time and maintaining study integrity. He works closely with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to drive efficient, compliant, and well-coordinated clinical research programs.