Dr. Leo Kim is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and member of the Retina Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear as a practicing vitreoretinal surgeon. He has extensive experience in the management of retinal diseases associated with pathologic neovascularization. These include diseases such conditions as retinal vein occlusions, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration.
After obtaining his M.D., Ph.D. from the Medical Scientist Training Program at Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Kim attended University of Southern California/Doheny Eye Institute for his ophthalmology residency, where he was recognized with the Doheny Resident Research Award for two consecutive years. He also was awarded the Lillian and Henry Nesburn Award for Research Excellence and was chosen to participate in the 2008 Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Residents Retreat; an honor extended to only the top residents in the United States demonstrating exceptional potential in academic ophthalmology. Following residency, Dr. Kim continued at Doheny Eye Institute as a vitreoretinal surgery fellow and was recognized by the Heed Foundation with a highly prestigious fellowship grant. Dr. Kim completed additional research training as a member of the K12 Harvard Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute.
His research is currently funded by both the NIH, and Department of Defense. As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Kim focuses his research on understanding the mechanisms of vitreoretinal disease. His research program is focused primarily on understanding the molecular mechanisms of aberrant ocular angiogenesis, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and retinal toxicity. He has presented his work on diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and drug toxicity both nationally and internationally.