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Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Glaucoma
Tel: 617-573-3670
Office hours: Mon. 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Thu. and Fri. 12:45 p.m. - 4 p.m.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dr. Rhee cares for both adult and childhood glaucomas. He has an interest in complex cases and rare clinical syndromes in addition to more common forms of glaucoma. Dr. Rhee is also interested in offering the most diversified array of surgical procedures to optimize and customize the management of an individual patient. He has also introduced a new surgical procedure, the trabectome, to New England. Dr. Rhee has the longest experience with this procedure on the East Coast and is the regional trainer so that patients throughout New England may have access to the newest technology. Dr. Rhee was honored by Boston magazine as one of the “Best Doctors 2007-2008.”
At MEEI, Dr. Rhee continues to receive regional, national, and international referrals. He spends the majority of his clinical time at MEEI, Boston, but also sees patients and Mass. Eye and Ear’s satellite in Stoneham, MA, and the Harvard affiliated Children’s Hospital Boston. (See below in “What would you like your patients to know about you?” for more information.)
In addition to his main interest of caring for patients, Dr. Rhee’s scientific research is aimed at determining the cellular and molecular cause of glaucoma while developing directed gene therapy as a viable treatment for patients. He leads a molecular biology laboratory that uses a variety of approaches to understand and modify aqueous humor drainage. Fundamentally, these studies probe the underlying cause of glaucoma and eye pressure. Dr. Rhee’s laboratory has provided further insight into the mechanism of prostaglandin analogue medications and the importance of the relationship of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors for the control of eye pressure. As these studies continue, his laboratory has expanded their studies to investigate the contributory role of matricellular proteins.
His clinical research interests include outcomes of novel surgical procedures, the psychological impact of glaucoma, and furthering the knowledge base of rare clinical forms of glaucoma including medication-induced (sulfonamide, corticosteroid, etc.), plateau iris syndrome, and idiopathic elevated episcleral venous pressure associated glaucoma. Dr. Rhee also participates in the ongoing projects of the department. Dr. Rhee has received the competitive American Glaucoma Society’s Clinician-Scientist award in 2004 and 2005 (the maximum number allowed by the society). In 2008, the American Glaucoma Society honored Dr. Rhee again with the Mid-Career Physician-Scientist Award. In 2008, Dr. Rhee was awarded the competitive RPB Physician-Scientist Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness organization. These awards were given to support his research into eye pressure regulation. Trainees in Dr. Rhee’s laboratory have won the James Shipman Award in 2003 and the prestigious Fight for Sight Student Fellowships in 2004, 2007, and 2008.
Dr. Douglas J. Rhee arrived to the Glaucoma Service of the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, in September 2005, from the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital and the National Institutes of Health. He is a glaucoma specialist, molecular biologist, and board-certified ophthalmologist.
Dr. Rhee was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in Detroit, Michigan. After graduating valedictorian of his high school, he entered the combined pre-medical / medical program at the University of Michigan Medical School. After graduating in the top 10% of his class (Alpha Omega Alpha), he then finished an internship at the University of Michigan affiliated Oakwood Hospital (Dearborn, MI). Dr. Rhee completed his ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital where he also served as co-chief resident. He was awarded a competitive Heed Fellow award and completed a clinical glaucoma fellowship at the top ranked Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (Miami, FL) and a post-doctoral laboratory fellowship at the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) investigating the molecular biology of intraocular pressure regulation. Dr. Rhee was an attending physician on the glaucoma service of Wills Eye Hospital for four years and clinical consultant of the National Eye Institute for five years prior to coming to MEEI.
In early 2007, Dr. Rhee began service as the medical director of the Mass. Eye and Ear satellite office in Stoneham, MA. He was awarded the Norman Knight Leadership Development Award in 2006 by MEEI.
Dr. Rhee is an accomplished writer having co-authored the Wills Eye Drug Guide (currently in its second edition) which was first published in 1998 and was the lead editor for the third edition of the Wills Eye Manual (2001). He authored and edited Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology: Glaucoma in 2003. His most recent book, Ophthalmic Drug Guide, was released in early of 2007. He has published many articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and co-authored many book chapters. Dr. Rhee has served as a consultant for the Physician’s Desk Reference for Ophthalmology since 1997 and has been the lead medical editor for this publication since 2002. He reviews for several ophthalmologic journals, and in 2006, Dr. Rhee began serving as a contributing editor for the trade publication Ocular Surgery News.
Dr. Rhee is a leading educator of ophthalmologists. He serves on various scientific or curriculum committees for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, National Institutes of Health, American Glaucoma Society, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and American Board of Ophthalmology (the certifying organization for ophthalmologists). In 2007, his contributions to the American Academy of Ophthalmology were recognized by the Achievement Award. Dr. Rhee has organized and developed the curricula for numerous regional and national meetings for the continuing education of his colleague ophthalmologists. Dr. Rhee participates in the teaching of glaucoma to medical students, residents, and fellows. He lectures locally, nationally, and internationally.
A complete list of research publications can be seen at www.pubmed.gov. Type the physician's name at the top, where it says 'for' and the physician's research publications will appear.