Our Doctors

Ernst Nicolitz, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Chiel Abraham Wind, M.D., F.A.C.S
David M. Mills, M.D.
Lenka Champion, M.D.
Mary Rosenbaum. O.D.
Louis J. Catania, O.D., F.A.A.O., D.Sc. (Hon.)

also check out Our Referral Doctors

Ernst Nicolitz, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Ernst Nicolitz is the founder and chief surgeon at Nicolitz Eye Consultants, a private multispecialty group practice in Jacksonville, FL. He has been a board certified ophthalmologist for 30 years and is a fellowship trained specialist in oculoplastics surgery. Dr. Nicolitz is on the active medical staff of the Department of Ophthalmology at Baptist Medical Center and Shands Jacksonville Hospital of the University of Florida where he also serves as a Clinical Professor of Oculoplastic Surgery. He is trained, certified and experienced in the latest surgical technologies including the Visx and LadarVision excimer lasers, the ReStor IOL, ReZoom IOL, Tecnis IOL, Visian ICL and Verisyse Phakic IOL as well as the IntraLase femtosecond infrared Laser and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty for glaucoma patients. Dr. Nicolitz has lectured and been published extensively worldwide and has received awards and honors from the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

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Chiel Abraham Wind, M.D., F.A.C.S

Dr. Chiel Wind has been a board certified ophthalmologist for 34 years. His practices and appointments have ranged from Hadassah University Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel to the University of Florida, Gainesville where he did his ophthalmology residency from June 1968 to June 1972 and later became Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Department. He has also been the Chairman of the Department of ophthalmology at Nemours Hospital and Specialty Hospital (Formerly Jacksonville Medical Center). He has maintained a private practice from 1976 to the present at Nicolitz Eye Consultants.

Over the years, Dr. Wind has participated in educational programs at prestigious ophthalmology institutions including Bascom Palmer Institute in Miami, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Air Force Institute for Ophthalmic Pathology in Washington, DC and the Scheie Eye Institute, Philadelphia, PA. He has authored over 50 publications and research papers and active in the major national and local ophthalmologic societies.

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David M. Mills, M.D.

Dr. David Mills completed his training at Wheaton College (Summa Cum Laude) in 1996; medical school at the University of Michigan in 2000; and his ophthalmology residency at the University of Florida, Gainesville in 2004. He is a board certified ophthalmologist and his honors to date include Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society member, Presidential Scholar, Biochemistry Award from the American Institute of Chemists Foundation and Dean's List each semester at Wheaton College.

He has lectured, been published and completed recognized research projects 15 times during the past 5 years. His research and clinical interests include wavefront technology, glaucoma and a strong interest in facial and oculoplastics surgery. Regarding the later, Dr. Mills is on a 2 year sabbatical leave from Nicolitz Eye Consultants to complete a world renowned fellowship program in oculoplastics and facial cosmetic surgery in Albany, NY. Upon completion of the program, he will rejoin the practice in Jacksonville as the highest trained ophthalmic specialist in this field.

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Lenka Champion, M.D.

 Dr. Champion completed her education and training at the University of North Florida (Magna Cum Laude in Biology) in 1996; the University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville (with HONORS) in 2001; her internship (90th percentile rank) at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine; and her ophthalmology residency at the University of Florida, Gainesville and Jacksonville in 2005.

Dr. Champion is board certified as well as a certified Visx Laser Surgeon. She has extensive refractive surgery experience with the U.S. Navy, NAS Jax and the Univ. of Florida, Shands Gainesville.   She has published 3 papers in medical and ophthalmic journals and has presented 3 scientific papers at the Annual Research Symposium at the University of Florida School of Medicine. Lenka’s honors include the HM Hill Scholarship, International Baccalaureate Presidential Scholarship, ER Bernhard Trust Scholarship for Outstanding Community Service, HM Hill Scholarship and the University of North Florida Student Caring Award. She continues to be active in community service as a volunteer teacher in elementary school vision screenings, glaucoma screenings and at the University of Florida School of Medicine.

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Mary Rosenbaum, O.D.

 Dr. Mary Underberg Rosenbaum is a board certified Doctor of Optometry in Florida and Tennessee.  She graduated in 1999 from NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  She then completed a Veterans Administration Hospital residency in Johnson City, TN in 2000 through Southern College of Optometry. She obtained her undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. 

Dr. Rosenbaum grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with 3 sisters (a lawyer, an optometrist and a paraoptometric).  She is the youngest daughter of Al and Marilyn Underberg, both professionals in their own right.  She currently lives in South Mandarin with 2 dogs:  Pina the greyhound and Gilda the golden retriever.  

She enjoys serving her patients with kindness, compassion and professionalism.  Her love for vision care has led her to teaching at Florida Community College Jacksonville and The Vision Care Institute, a division of Johnson and Johnson. She serves on the board of directors for Northeast Florida Optometric Society and will be president in 2007. She volunteers with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) and has completed four mission trips to provide eye care to the needy people of central and South America.  In her free time, she enjoys bicycling, karate, gardening, tennis, and riding her Honda Shadow motorcycle.  She has also traveled the world extensively, having visited more than 60 countries. 

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Louis J. Catania, O.D., F.A.A.O., D.Sc.

Dr. Louis J. (Lou) Catania is an internationally acclaimed clinical educator, author and a recognized expert in corneal disorders, refractive surgery and new eye care technologies. He has been a clinical practitioner for thirty-six years as well as the Chief of Eye Services for two large medical groups in Rochester, N.Y. and Philadelphia, PA. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1969, he completed a 2-year residency in primary eye care and anterior segment disease with the University of Rochester, School of Medicine's Associated Hospital Residency Program where he also taught primary care optometric and medical interns and residents for 8 years. Currently, Lou is associated with Nicolitz Eye Consultants, a multispecialty ophthalmology group in Jacksonville, FL. He also does clinical research on numerous developing eye care technologies; serves as a consultant and advisor to multiple ophthalmic companies and professional journals; holds academic ranks at numerous educational institutions; and he continues to write and lecture extensively worldwide. He was voted one of the 10 most influential optometrists of the 20th century by the Review of Optometry Journal.

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