The Harold G. Scheie Professor of Ophthalmology

The Professorship was established in 2022, and honors the legacy of Dr. Harold G. Scheie, who was the first resident in ophthalmology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After serving with distinction during World War II, he returned to Penn where he remained throughout his extraordinary career. The Founder of the Scheie Eye Institute, his work brought prominence to Penn’s Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Scheie received innumerable honors for his groundbreaking work in the treatment of cataracts and glaucoma, and was revered for his dedication to his students and patients.

Current Chairholder

Bennie H. Jeng, MD

Bennie H. Jeng, MD, is a nationally recognized clinician-scientist specializing in cornea and external eye diseases and an alumnus of the Perelman School of Medicine. He began his academic career at the Cleveland Clinic in 2006 before transitioning to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he rose through the academic ranks, serving as co-director of the UCSF cornea service, director of the Proctor/UCSF Cornea Fellowship program, and as Chief of Ophthalmology at the San Francisco General Hospital. Jeng was recruited to the University of Maryland in 2013, where under his leadership, the Department of Ophthalmology expanded its clinical service from three to 12 sites, grew its research faculty, increased the number of endowments, and recreated its residency program.

Jeng has had a broad institutional as well as global impact. At Maryland, he served as founding medical director of the Multispecialty Ambulatory Surgical Center as well as co-chair of the School of Medicine’s Promotions Reform Committee, and he was actively involved in medical education. Jeng is also a regular surgical instructor overseas, having taught corneal transplantation in numerous countries, including India, China, and Kuwait. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been providing international surgical instruction virtually.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Washington University, Jeng graduated from the Perelman School of School of Medicine in 1998. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, followed by a fellowship at UCSF. He also holds a master’s degree in Clinical Investigation. Jeng has held leadership posts in many ophthalmologic societies, including serving as president of the Cornea Society, president of the Eye and Contact Lens Association, and on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Ophthalmology.