Prof. Ambrósio is the first son of the late Renato Ambrósio MD, who pioneered the field of refractive surgery in Brazil in the early 1980s, and Vera Martins Ambrósio MD, a resilient and dedicated ophthalmologist who upheld the family practice after the premature decease of her husband in January 1994. Prof. Ambrósio is in private practice in Rio de Janeiro with his younger brother, Rodrigo Martins Ambrósio MD, a talented retina surgeon, and his beautiful wife, Renata Siqueira da Silva MD, a well-trained and competent glaucoma and contact lens specialist.
He concluded his residency in ophthalmology at the Instituto de Oftalmologia Tadeu Cvintal (São Paulo) in 1999 and a fellowship program in refractive surgery and cornea at the University of Washington (Seattle) in October 2002 under the supervision of Steven E Wilson MD. He defended his doctorate in sciences at the University of São Paulo in May 2004.
He served as president of the Brazilian Society of Administration in Ophthalmology from 2006 until 2010, and president of the Brazilian Society of Refractive Surgery from 2012 until 2014, before the incorporation with the Brazilian Society of Cataract and Implants for the creation of the Brazilian Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (BRASCRS). He was the vice president of the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology (2013-2015) and was elected president of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) in 2020, staying in this position until its spinoff from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) in 2024. He is also the current president of the Refractive Surgery Alliance (RSA; 2023-2024).
Prof. Ambrósio founded the Rio de Janeiro Corneal Tomography and Biomechanics Study Group in 2007 and BrAIN (Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Networking in Medicine) in 2010, from which over 200 publications originated. He is an affiliate professor of the postdoc program in ophthalmology at the Pontific Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (lato sensu) and the Federal University of São Paulo (stricto sensu) and an adjunct professor in ophthalmology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO).
He published an invited thesis for the American Ophthalmological Society (AOS) in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in July 2023, with the title “Optimized Artificial Intelligence for Enhanced Ectasia Detection Using Scheimpflug-Based Corneal Tomography and Biomechanical Data.”
Professor Ambrósio is a fellow of the World College of Refractive Surgery (FWCRS) and a world-class refractive surgeon-scientist. His research philosophy encompasses his original algorithm (A2I)2 – applying ancient intelligence (the why’s) and applied artificial intelligence (the how). His primary interests are corneal/refractive multimodal diagnostics, beyond and not over corneal tomography and biomechanics. His practice includes customized laser vision correction (LVC), phakic IOLs, refractive cataract surgery, dry eye, and therapeutic procedures for ectatic corneal diseases.
He is a devoted family man with 2 lovely daughters, Giovanna and Rafaella. He is a second-degree black-belt Jiu-jitsu practitioner and lives embracing the challenge of finding balance among his busy and proactive academic appointments, his private practice at Instituto de Olhos Renato Ambrósio and Rio Vision Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, and Centro Brasileiro de Cirurgia de Olhos in Goiania.
