Joel S. Schuman, MD, FACS

Kenneth L. Roper, MD Endowed Chair and Professor of Ophthalmology; Vice Chair for Research Innovation; Co-Director, Glaucoma Service
Wills Eye Hospital

Email: jss443@drexel.edu

Bio

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).

Credentials

Board Certification

American Board of Ophthalmology

Academic Affiliation

Professor, Ophthalmology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Education

Fellowship: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Howe Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Glaucoma

Residency: Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University

Medical School: Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Education

Fellowship, Harvard Medical School, 1989
MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1984
AB in Psychology, Columbia University, 1980

Research Interests

Early detection of disease and its progression, focusing on the invention and investigation of novel diagnostics for eye disease, most specifically for glaucoma.

Publications

To search for journal publications by this doctor, visit the National Library of Medicine