International Ophthalmology and Global Eye Health

Dr. Martone received his B.A. from Providence College and his M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also completed his ophthalmology residency. In addition, he received a master’s degree in public health in epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.  He received fellowship training in glaucoma at Duke University and has also completed fellowships at The Wilmer Eye Institute (Preventive Ophthalmology), Bethesda Eye Institute (International Ophthalmology), and Cullen Eye Institute of Baylor University (International Ophthalmology).Dr. Martone has served on the faculty teaching at The Doheny Eye Institute of the University of Southern California School of Medicine, as well as within the International Eye Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland, and at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, and the Glaucoma Service, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.  He was Medical Director of ORBIS International, a global nongovernmental organization dedicated to fighting blindness worldwide, and, through this, oversaw teaching of clinical and surgical ophthalmology in countries around the world. He has personally worked in over 100 locations in more than eighty countries.  He has worked extensively in countries such as China, Cuba, Cameroon, India, and Mongolia.  He was also Director of the Eye Clinic, Victoria Hospital, Castries, St. Lucia and Consultant Ophthalmologist to the Ministry of Health, St Lucia.Prior to joining the department as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Dr. Martone held a voluntary appointment as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Yale School of Medicine where he received the residency program’s Excellence in Teaching Award.  He is an attending ophthalmologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Haven, CT.  He is president of the Connecticut Society of Eye Physicians.  He is a past president of the New York Glaucoma Society and is a founding member of the Connecticut Glaucoma Society. He is a member of several other professional societies, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery.During his many years of experience as a glaucoma specialist, Dr. Martone has routinely lectured in the United States and countries around the globe, with well over 100 presentations.  Moreover, he is the author of numerous scientific and clinical articles and papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as being an author of chapters in books on the subject of ophthalmology.

Alden is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor and has been affiliated with the department for more than fifty years.  He was a full-time clinical and basic science researcher and technologist from 1972 to 1999 and has been a member of the part-time faculty since that time. He is an author or coauthor of numerous scientific and clinical articles and papers in peer-reviewed ophthalmology journals, most in the area of glaucoma.Alden has a diverse and comprehensive background in the international and business arenas of ophthalmology.  He served as the Director of Technology Resources and Clinical Engineering of ORBIS International, a global nongovernmental organization dedicated to fighting blindness worldwide, working with numerous ophthalmologists, organizations, and governments around the globe.  He has significant on-the-ground ophthalmology-related experience in countries that include Myanmar, Mongolia, India, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cuba, El Salvador, China, among others.  While at Yale full-time, he spent two summers collaborating on-site at the Institute Regina Elena in Rome, Italy, in research of the ciliary epithelium.  He was also the United States Guest Scientist to the International Whaling Commission serving in Albany, Australia and on the Southern Ocean.  As an intern during law school, he personally handling numerous refugee and immigration cases for the Chairman (Bruce Morrison) of the Immigration Committee of the United States House of Representatives.  For some years following Yale, Alden was the CEO of a very successful local ophthalmology group, overseeing much growth and success.  He has been a member of the Advisory Committee for Outpatient Surgical Facilities to the Commissioner of Health, and currently serves the Connecticut Department of Health as a board member of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners of Opticians.  He has been a member of several professional societies, both in and outside of ophthalmology, as well as a founding member of the Connecticut Glaucoma Society.Alden received a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut and attended the Yale Law School, Yale School of Management, and Yale School of Public Health as well.  He is a combat veteran who served with distinction in Vietnam.  As an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University, he currently teaches undergraduate courses in Global Health, Healthcare Business, and Engineering.

Dr. Kombo received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and her M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine, where she also completed her ophthalmology residency. She completed fellowship training in Uveitis and Ocular Immunology at The Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution (MERSI) under the mentorship of Dr. C. Stephen Foster where she was the Chief Clinical Fellow. Dr. Kombo has served on the faculty at the Yale School of Medicine in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences since 2014. She is Director of the Uveitis Service and is a comprehensive ophthalmologist. Dr. Kombo is the Director of Medical Student Education in Ophthalmology. She volunteered in Nassau, Bahamas, at Princess Margaret Hospital for 6 years, providing resident teaching and helping in the care of the underinsured and underserved Bahamian population. She hopes to continue working in other international settings and is currently working with Drs. Martone and Alden Mead to secure a partnership with LV Prasad Institute in Hyderabad, India.