Appointment of Bennie H. Jeng, MD, as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology


March 2, 2022

To:Penn Medicine Faculty, Students, and Staff

From:J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Dean, Perelman School of Medicine
EVP, University of Pennsylvania for the Health System

Kevin B. Mahoney
CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System

Deborah A. Driscoll, MD
SVP, Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania


We are pleased to announce the appointment of Bennie H. Jeng, MD, as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Scheie Eye Institute at Penn Medicine. A nationally recognized clinician-scientist specializing in cornea and external eye diseases, Dr. Jeng is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). His appointment at Penn Medicine takes effect July 1.

Dr. Jeng began his distinguished academic career at the Cleveland Clinic in 2003, where he established himself as an NIH funded clinician-scientist. In 2008, he transitioned 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. Dr. Jeng was recruited to the University of Maryland in 2013, where under his transformative leadership, the Department of Ophthalmology expanded its clinical service from 3 to 12 sites, grew its research faculty, increased the number of endowments, and recreated its residency program.

Dr. Jeng has had a broad institutional as well as global impact. At UMSOM, he served as founding Medical Director of the Multispecialty Ambulatory Surgical Center and as co-chair of the UMSOM Promotions Reform Committee and was actively involved in medical education, serving as one of the inaugural leaders of the house system for UMSOM medical students. Dr. 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.

Dr. Jeng earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University and his MD 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.

At the national level, Dr. Jeng has been actively involved in the leadership of many ophthalmologic societies, including serving as President of the Cornea Society, President of the Eye and Contact Lens Association (formerly CLAO), and on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He also serves in leadership positions on several committees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and he has served recently on the Board of Directors of the Eye Bank Association of America. He was a past editorial board member for JAMA Ophthalmology, and he currently serves as Associate Editor for Ophthalmology (official journal of the AAO), as a Senior Editor for Cornea, and as Editor-in-Chief for Eye and Contact Lens.

In keeping with his impact, Dr. Jeng has received numerous awards, including the Senior Achievement Award and the Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, as well as resident teaching awards from the Cleveland Clinic and at UCSF.

Dr. Jeng’s appointment follows a national search led by Frances Jensen, MD, FACP, Arthur Knight Asbury MD Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology. We are grateful to Dr. Jensen and the Search Committee for their thorough work to bring Dr. Jeng to Penn Medicine. Dr. Jeng’s appointment as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology begins the next phase of leadership of the Scheie Eye Institute and this outstanding department which, under the longtime leadership of Joan O’Brien, MD, has established itself as among the very best in the country.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jeng on his appointment and welcoming him back home to Penn.