Ivan R. Schwab

{{Short description|American ophthalmologist}}

{{BLP sources|date=March 2011}}

Ivan Roy Schwab is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of California Davis School of Medicine.

Dr. Schwab completed his undergraduate degree at West Virginia University and received his M.D. from the West Virginia University School of Medicine. Dr. Schwab then completed a residency in ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center and a fellowship in corneal surgery at University of California San Francisco in 1982. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.{{cite web |url=http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/search/faculty/biodetail.asp?bioid=141&searchtype=&fromsearchlist=yes |title=UC Davis Health System: Bio |website=www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613160110/http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/search/faculty/biodetail.asp?bioid=141&searchtype=&fromsearchlist=yes |archive-date=2010-06-13}}

Dr. Schwab is currently the director of corneal services at UC Davis Medical Center and in addition to clinical and teaching duties conducts research in biomaterials. His past work includes the development of a bioengineered artificial cornea which can be used to treat patients with severe corneal damage.

In addition to the diagnosis and treatment of ocular disorders, Dr. Schwab has an interest in comparative ophthalmology, examining the visual systems of animals such as stomatopods, mysid shrimp, and sharks and has published a book on the evolution of the eye.{{cite book|last=Schwab|first=Ivan|title=Evolution's Witness: How Eyes Evolved|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=U.S.A.|isbn=978-0-19-536974-8|pages=328}} His work on why woodpeckers don't get headachesCure for a headache, Br J Ophthalmol 2002;86:843 {{doi|10.1136/bjo.86.8.843}} was honored with an Ig Nobel Prize in 2006.[http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/20061011_ig_nobel_schwab/index.html Ig Nobel prize for UC Davis Ophthalmologist], UC Davis Health System, 2006.