Health Care Team
Thomas C. Lee, MD
As director of the Retina Institute at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles,
Dr. Thomas C. Lee is overseeing the growth of this highly respected
program. He came to Childrens Hospital in 2006 from NewYork-Presbyterian
Hospital / Cornell University, where he was director of the pediatric
retina service, and associate director of the Robert M. Ellsworth
Ocular Oncology Center.
Dr. Lee earned his bachelor's at Johns Hopkins University and received
his MD from Cornell University where he graduated with Honors in
Research as a Howard Hughes Scholar. He completed his ophthalmology
residency at Cornell and then went to Harvard Medical School as
a Heed Fellow where he studied retinal stem cells and the role they
play in cancer. He completed his retina fellowship at Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School before returning to
Cornell where he was a Fred Gluck Scholar. He held the position
of Associate Director of the Robert M. Ellsworth Ocular Oncology
Center at Cornell until being recruited to Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles.
Dr. Lee has made several advances in our understanding of ocular
tumors. He has identified novel drugs that can induce tumor regression
and is currently designing new ways to enhance delivery into the
eye. His work has been supported by a number of grants from research
foundations and has numerous peer-reviewed publications in recognition
of these accomplishments. While at Cornell he has been awarded the
Distinguished House Staff Award, and the Resident Teaching, Franklyn
Ellenbogen Prize, and Dean William Mecklenburg Polk Memorial Prize,
and has recently been recognized with the Achievement Award from
the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his contributions both
in advancing the field as well as teaching courses to enhance the
skills of other ophthalmologists.
He holds membership in the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Association
of Pediatric Retina Surgeons, and the Ocular Oncology Research Society,
and the New York Ophthalmological Society.
