Biography

Chief Medical Advisor-Retina and Chair, Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Ciulla currently serves as our Chief Medical Advisor-Retina and Chair of our Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Ciulla previously served from 2019 to 2023 as our Chief Medical Officer and Chief Development Officer where he was responsible for clinical trial strategy, trial design and safety, product pipeline strategy and development, and medical and professional affairs.

Prior to Clearside, Dr. Ciulla served a VP role, as Medical Strategy Lead-Ophthalmology at Spark Therapeutics, where he defined and led medical strategy to support development and commercialization of LUXTURNA® (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), the first FDA-approved gene therapy for a genetic disease. He previously served a VP role, in Clinical Strategy at Ophthotech Corporation.

Before launching his executive management career, Dr. Ciulla co-directed the retina service and ocular angiogenesis research lab at Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest U.S. med school. He remains a volunteer Clinical Professor at the university and serves on the Board of Directors of Midwest Eye Institute. He is an active member of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Macula Society, Retina Society, American Society of Retina Specialists, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Ciulla has held numerous leadership roles in clinical research, including principal investigator, medical monitor, and member of scientific advisory, data safety monitoring or writing committees in over 100 national clinical trials, including CATT and registration trials for nearly all retinal therapeutics approved by the FDA. He has served on journal editorial boards, edited several textbooks, presented at over 200 conferences, and co-authored over 200 publications, including the first published U.S.-based randomized clinical trial on any intravitreal therapy in neovascular AMD. Dr. Ciulla graduated from Harvard College and UCSF Med School, followed by an internship and residency at Harvard Med School, and a fellowship at Tufts Med School. He also earned an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, specializing in the business of medicine.