The Harold G. Scheie – Nina C. Mackall Research Professorship of Ophthalmology

Harold G. ScheieThe Professorship was initiated in 1983 through the bequest of Nina C. Mackall, a friend and grateful patient of Harold G. Scheie, MD (1909–1990), and by Dr. Scheie, who was renowned for his commitment and contributions to the field of ophthalmology and to the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Scheie 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.

Nina C. Mackall was treated by Dr. Scheie for glaucoma for over 30 years. Through the course of her treatment, she grew to admire Dr. Scheie as her trusted friend and confidant. Her bequest was made “to encourage and assist research into causes, prevention, alleviation and cure of blindness.”

 

obrien photoCurrent Chairholder

Joan M. O'Brien, MD

Joan M. O’Brien, MD, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine, specializes in the treatment of ocular tumors. Her laboratory has over 20 years of experience studying ocular disease genetics. Dr. O’Brien and colleagues discovered two oncogenes in ocular melanoma and identified numerous pathogenic variants in the retinoblastoma gene. These findings have allowed for the development of targeted therapies and the genetic testing and prolongation of life for patients. Today, Dr. O’Brien is the Principal Investigator on the largest-ever study of glaucoma genetics in African Americans.

Dr. O’Brien received her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in 1986. She completed an internship in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston in 1987, followed by research fellowships in immunology and ophthalmic pathology. Dr. O’Brien subsequently completed a residency in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and a fellowship in ocular oncology at the UCSF.

Previous Chairholders

  • Alan M. Laties, MD