Lakhani is a martial arts athlete who has competed internationally. He has championed youth leadership through athletics, receiving a Diana Award for inspirational youth. And he’s been making an impact researching complex eye disorders here in Ottawa.
In recent months, Lakhani was the lead author on a collaborative paper he presented to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world’s largest association of eye surgeons and medical experts. The published international study won him the distinction of best paper in the retina sub-speciality section at the academy’s annual meeting.
This milestone cascaded into his receiving of the Faculty of Medicine’s Clinician Competency Award in Ophthalmology, in December 2025.
Lakhani’s strong work ethic and focused discipline are apparent to his uOttawa peers and supervisors.
“He is truly an outstanding student and productive researcher, gifted with a mature clinical approach well beyond his years. Working with Moiz inspires me to be a better clinician and person, and we are truly lucky to have him as part of our faculty,” says his supervisor, Dr. Bernard Hurley, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute and vitreoretinal surgeon at The Ottawa Hospital.
“He is truly an outstanding student and productive researcher, gifted with a mature clinical approach well beyond his years. Working with Moiz inspires me to be a better clinician, and person, and we are truly lucky to have him as part of our faculty.”
Dr. Bernard Hurley
— Lakhani's supervisor
From sparring to specializing
On track to becoming the first doctor in his family, Lakhani applies the mindfulness principles he was taught through martial arts training in his medical studies. His passion for martial arts started with karate when he was five years old, before progressing to wrestling, judo, kickboxing and, ultimately, jiu-jitsu.
Balancing clinical responsibilities with high-performance athletics training isn’t easy, but Lakhani says his loaded schedule honed his ability to think and communicate clearly and effectively under complex, time-sensitive clinical situations.
“Sustained excellence depends on a strong foundation of health,” Lakhani says, describing how martial arts principles root his approach to life off the dojo mat. “It has given me a deep appreciation for the physical and mental aspects of recovery, which I can draw upon when working with athletes or patients rehabilitating from injury.”
“Sustained excellence depends on a strong foundation of health. It has given me a deep appreciation for the physical and mental aspects of recovery, which I can draw upon when working with athletes or patients rehabilitating from injury.”
Moiz Lakhani
— fourth year MD student at the Faculty of Medicine
Researching the impact of Ozempic and Wegovy
To treat patients with Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are increasingly being used worldwide. Newer studies have found that patients are at a higher risk of developing eye conditions, although evidence for causality has remained sparse.
To verify concerns about the medications’ potential relationship with vision loss, a group of researchers across Canada and the United States decided to partner up.
Under Hurley’s supervision, Lakhani collaborated with leading experts at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute, University of Toronto Department of Ophthalmology, McMaster University and Doheny Eye Institute UCLA.
Lakhani was the lead author on a global study on the relationship with vision loss, one of the largest to date, where he analyzed over 47 million reports of ocular adverse events from 180 countries with material from the World Health Organization databank the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System.
The international study suggests that semaglutide, the active ingredient in many GLP-1 drugs, increases the risk of blindness among diabetic patients and reduces blood flow to the optic nerve. While more long-term studies are needed, the research team is currently recommending that doctors document the patient’s eye history before making an informed decision together on which GLP-1 medications will be more suitable for the patient’s individual needs.
Combining passion and vocation
Lakhani aims to combine his clinical research experience with the insight he’s gaining through his clerkship at The Ottawa Hospital and mixed martial arts training.
To this changemaker, making a difference means helping people through his unique blend of passions — nationally and internationally.
“I believe in bridging worlds — combining medicine, sports, research, leadership and lived experience — to serve diverse communities with excellence and empathy,” says Lakhani.
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