Candidate Bio
Michelle K. Rhee, MD, has been the medical director of the EBSR since 2014. She is a graduate of Princeton University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Following ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she completed cornea fellowship at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEEI). Over the last 10 years, she has been an active member of the EBAA, serving on the medical advisory board, and chairing the scientific programs committee and accreditation board. Dr. Rhee was appointed the inaugural editor-in-chief of the EBAA journal Eye Banking and Corneal Transplantation. She represented the EBAA in the AAO Leadership Development Program, and serves on the AAO Committee on Eye Banks. Dr. Rhee has also served as a faculty member of the EBAA Leadership Development Program.
Dr. Rhee is currently an Associate Clinical Professor at the ISMMS, and has been the associate director of ophthalmology at Elmhurst Hospital, a major teaching site for the NYEEI of Mount Sinai residency program, since 2004. She is a past president of the Eye and Contact Lens Association, and a member of the AAO and ASCRS cornea committees.
Candidate Statement
After serving on the EBSR MAB, I was mentored by Dr. Wing Chu and appointed associate medical director. Since 2014, I have been medical director, and have led EBAA committees including scientific programs and accreditation board. I have experience working collaboratively in multidisciplinary entities including EBAA, ECLA, and as associate director of service.
I am dedicated to the mission of providing quality donor tissue for sight restoration through transplantation, research, and education. I lead a course for cornea fellows in NY and have directed research in transplantation devices and storage media. I reinstituted the EBSR Paton Fellowship ($10,000 research grant), and established an exposure for residents to visit and learn about key eye banking functions.
I understand the transformative advancements made in corneal transplantation, in large part, due to the innovation and collaboration between eye banks and surgeons. Having cut my own tissue during the early days of EK, I experienced the revolutionary impact of eye banks providing patient ready tissue. I am committed to the EBAA mission and values of global sight restoration and non-profit community eye banking.
Prior Service
- 2022 – Present – Member, AAO Committee on Eye Banks
- 2022 – Present – Inaugural Editor-in-Chief, Eye Banking and Corneal Transplantation
- 2020 – 2022 – Co-Chair, Accreditation Board
- 2018 – 2022 – Editorial Board, International Journal of Eye Banking
- 2018 – 2020 – Vice Co-Chair, Accreditation Board
- 2018 – 2020 – Chair, Scientific Programs Committee
- 2017 – Present – Faculty Member, EBAA Physician Leadership Program
- 2017 – Member, Board of Directors Nominating Committee
- 2016 – Present – Medical Advisory Board
- 2016 – 2018 – Vice Chair, Scientific Programs Committee
- 2016 – 2017 – American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): Leadership Development Program (selected by the EBAA)
- 2015 – EBAA Physicians’ Leadership Program, Tampa, FL.
- 2015 – Present – EBAA Accreditation Board
- 2014 – 2016 Member, Scientific Review Committee
