Wills Ophthalmologist-in-Chief Recognized for Outstanding Professional Achievement
Julia A. Haller, MD, Wills Eye Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Dr. Haller was recognized for her innovating translational advances against blindness on many fronts, including sustained drug delivery devices, ocular pharmacotherapy, retinal "chip" implants, gene therapy, telemedicine, and combating health care disparities.
Dr. Haller directed the retina fellowship program at Johns Hopkins, and held the inaugural Katharine Graham Professorship in Ophthalmology, and subsequently the inaugural Robert Bond Welch, M.D. Chair. In 2007 she moved to Philadelphia to become Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Wills Eye Hospital, the William Tasman MD Endowed Chair, and Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals. She is the first woman to head a top three U.S. eye hospital and is the fourth faculty member and the first female in Jefferson's history to be elected.
"Dr. Haller is a trailblazer and her contributions to the field of ophthalmology have transformed research and care," said Mark Tykocinski MD, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Thomas Jefferson University and the Anthony F. and Gertrude M. DePalma Dean, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. "Dr. Haller continues to bring great distinction to Jefferson as a prolific scholar and practitioner."
One of the world’s most renowned retina surgeons, Dr. Haller has published more than 350 scientific articles and book chapters, with research interests in retinal pharmacology, macular surgery, venous occlusive disease, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, complicated retinal detachments, and health care disparities.
Dr. Haller’s honors include the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Lifetime Achievement Award, the Strittmatter Award (the highest honor of the Philadelphia Medical Society), the Gertrude Pyron Award from the Retina Research Foundation/American Society of Retina Specialists, the Louis Braille Award from Associated Services for the Blind, the Heed Award from the Society of Heed Fellows, the Gass Medal from the Macula Society, the Crystal Apple Award (teaching and mentorship) of the ASRS, the Kreissig Award from EURETINA, the President’s Award from Women in Ophthalmology, a Secretariat Award from the AAO, and the Rolex Achievement Award (given to a past participant in NCAA lacrosse). She also was named Physician of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2019. She holds Chair XVI of the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis. She is president of the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation, Chair of the Society of Heed Fellows, serves on the Council of the American Ophthalmological Society, and is a past president of the Retina Society, the ASRS, and the AUPO Board of Trustees, and a founding member of Women in Retina. Her editorial board service has included the American Journal of Ophthalmology, RETINA, Retinal Physician, Retina Times, Ocular Surgery News, Retina Today, and Ophthalmology Times.
A past Trustee of Princeton University and the Bryn Mawr School, Dr. Haller serves on the boards of the Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Association, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
View the Wills Eye Hospital press release.
View the National Academy of Medicine announcement.
View the Thomas Jefferson University press release.