WILLS EYE IS HIRING – CLICK HERE TO APPLY TODAY!

Pulido Header
Leslie Hyman
JOEL S. SCHUMAN, MD

Kenneth L. Roper, MD Endowed Chair

Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering
Vice Chair for Research Innovation
Co-Director, Glaucoma Service
Wills Eye Hospital

Joel S. Schuman, MD

Dr. Schuman is a pioneer in the field of ophthalmology, lauded for his research, discoveries, inventions, and compassionate patient care over the course of his more than 30-year career. In 2001, he and his colleagues were the first to identify a molecular marker for human glaucoma. In 1991 he was part of the team that invented optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, which provides quick, non-invasive, high resolution 3D mapping of the eye and has become an essential tool for the detection and treatment of diseases including glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Today more than 60,000 of these machines are used every day across the globe.

Dr. Schuman comes to Wills Eye from NYU Langone Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he served as the Elaine Langone Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Neuroscience & Physiology. He was Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Professor of Neural Science in the Center for Neural Science at the NYU College of Arts and Sciences. He chaired the ophthalmology department at NYU Langone Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine from 2016 to 2020 and was Vice Chair for Ophthalmology Research in the department from 2020 to 2022. Prior to arriving at NYU in 2016, he was Distinguished Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology as well as Eye and Ear Foundation Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology and Director of UPMC Eye Center (2003-2016) and before that was at Tufts University (1991-2003), where he was Residency Director (1991-1999), Glaucoma and Cataract Service Chief (1991-2003), Professor of Ophthalmology (1998), and Vice Chair (2001 - 2003).

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

  • Fellowship: Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, glaucoma
  • Residency: Medical College of Virginia
  • Medical School: Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Dr. Schuman’s first study of vision actually began during his undergraduate studies at Columbia University in what was then known as psychology but would today be categorized as neuroscience. He was motivated by parallels drawn to visual perception in his arts and humanities coursework at Columbia. The notions of “how we see what we see” and “how we perceive the world” were central to his choice of ophthalmology. The desire to understand more deeply and to find new and better ways to care for patients are the driving forces behind the work Dr. Schuman does in his clinical care and research. In addition to providing expert patient care, Dr. Schuman is currently working on research projects including stem cell treatment, artificial intelligence for imaging technology improvement, and novel diagnostics.

2002 - Alcon Research Institute Award and the Lewis Rudin Glaucoma Prize

2006 - ARVO Translational Research Award

2008 - Elected to the American Ophthalmological Society

2011 -  Clinician-Scientist Lecturer of the American Glaucoma Society.

2012 - Carnegie Science Center Award as well as sharing the Champalimaud Award (a 1 million Euro cash prize)

2013 - Robert N. Shaffer Lecture at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting

2013 - AAO Lifetime Achievement Award

2014 - Gold Fellow of ARVO

2015 - Special Recognition Award from the AAO in 2015

2016 - Elected to the American Association of Physicians

2016 - Fight for Sight Physician/Scientist Award

2017 - Leslie Dana Gold Medal

2018 - American Glaucoma Society Lecturer

2018 - Fight for Sight Alumni Achievement Award

2019 - BrightFocus Scientific Impact Award

2021 - Eye Foundation of America Robert Murphy Visionary Award

2022 - USC Keck Roski Eye Institute Laureate Award

2022 - Pittsburgh Eye and Ear Foundation Muse Award

Dr. Schuman is named in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Medical Sciences Education, America's Top Doctors, and Best Doctors in America.