Enabling Doctors to Improve People’s Lives

Working at ZEISS: Research and Development

Patty Sha

Enabling Doctors to Improve People’s Lives

Patty’s training as an optometrist in hands-on patient care, combined with her passion for leadership, competitive drive, and interest in making a positive impact for patients make her well suited as a clinical research manager at ZEISS Medical Technology. She heads a team that provides clinical expertise for product conceptualization and development of ophthalmic diagnostic equipment. Their products equip doctors to diagnose and effectively manage patients with diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, and macular degeneration, which affect a large amount of the population.

Proud of a Team Known for Delivering Results with Efficiency

Patty is incredibly proud of the team she manages. They must be both adaptable and efficient as they work on a large variety of projects, from providing feedback on new product features to offering expertise on user workflows to executing clinical studies. They also work with customer complaints and run studies with external partners and key opinion leaders. They work on both prototype and commercial devices, perform studies on human eyes, and ensure that the studies are being performed in a safe and ethical manner.

“I love being able to support my team as they deliver on their respective projects. They’re the ones performing the studies, writing the reports, analyzing the data, giving feedback on features, and being a part of the concept and development process. Being able to support these people as they contribute to these projects has been great. We’re about being efficient and getting it done.”

I am a problem solver. It’s what drives me. I see something that needs to be better, faster, stronger, easier and I want to find the way to make that happen.

Patty

Clinical Research Manager, ZEISS Medical Technology

I am a problem solver. It’s what drives me. I see something that needs to be better, faster, stronger, easier and I want to find the way to make that happen.

Being Part of the Win

One part of her job that Patty finds incredibly fulfilling is being part of a winning team that brings new features to market ahead of the competition. One such example is the optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, ZEISS AngioPlex® OCT Angiography. While OCT is commonly used to image the retina, this product is revolutionizing retinal disease management and treatment planning by enabling doctors to visualize retinal microvasculature without having to inject dyes into the patient.

“We were the first to market OCT angio – that was a big feat in our industry and very exciting. With our OCT, clinicians can take images without having to inject intravenous dye, which also makes the patients happy. And we were the first to do that in the US market. At ZEISS, we have the resources we need to move projects forward.”

At ZEISS, everyone around you wants you to succeed."

A Great Place to Learn and Grow

Patty has been with ZEISS for eight years. After graduating optometry school, Patty joined ZEISS as a consultant. While it was supposed to be a temporary position, she decided to stay, eventually joining ZEISS as a scientist, and now, a manager.

“At ZEISS, everyone around you wants you to succeed. When I first became a manager, managers from other departments reached out to make sure I was supported. To this day, these mentors still help with my continued growth. The people at ZEISS are invested in each other’s development. A large part of your work experience is determined by the people you work with, and I’m glad to be a part of the ZEISS team.”