Dr. Machen is a Pennsylvania native; she received her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University where she graduated magna cum laude with an English major and Biochemistry and Biology minors. She went on to attend medical school at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey.  At Penn State, she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society recognizing the top 10% of her graduating class.

She completed her internship year at Reading Hospital in Reading, PA followed by her Ophthalmology residency at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, IL where she served as Chief Resident.  She returned to Pennsylvania to complete her Glaucoma Fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital where she was awarded the Outstanding Fellow Award.

Dr. Machen has focused her academic efforts on re-envisioning and modernizing ophthalmology education and has created a curriculum to teach ophthalmology utilized by multiple residency programs.   She remains committed to educating younger generations of ophthalmologists and using educational resources to help her patients learn more about their ocular conditions.