Sheila Kay West (born September 15, 1946) is an American ophthalmologist who is the El-Maghraby Professor of Preventive Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute.[1][2] She is also the vice-chair for research.[3]
After her PhD she was appointed program director of pharmaceutical studies. After four years teaching medicine in the University of the Philippines, West returned to the United States.[citation needed]
West joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Wilmer Eye Institute Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology.[when?] She developed a surveillance system to monitor disparities in eye health, vision loss and access to ophthalmology.[6] She became interested in cataract, the leading cause of vision impairment.[7] She was the first to report the relationship between nuclear cataracts and smoking.[8] Her research informed the Surgeon General of the United States's report on smoking and eye disease.[9] In 2001, she was the first woman to be made President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.[10]
West launched the Salisbury Eye Study, a longitudinal study of people on the Delmarva Peninsula.[when?][11] The population were racially diverse, and West identified differences in age-related macular generation between Americans of different ethnicities. This study prompted her interest in health disparities. She identified that the leading cause of blindness among Mexican Americans was glaucoma.[10]
Alongside her work on cataracts, West was interested in the most common source of infectious eye disease, trachoma.[7] She demonstrated that face washing is a simple and effective strategy to get rid of trachoma.[10][12] Her efforts on trachoma started in Tanzania.[citation needed] She evaluated the success of trichiasis surgical techniques and contributed to the World Health Organization's SAFE strategy.[10] West has served as a mentor for several high-profile scientists.[13][14]
Awards and honors
2016 Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology Joanne G. Angle Award[15]
↑ Impairments, National Research Council (US) Committee on Disability Determination for Individuals with Visual; Lennie, Peter; Hemel, Susan B. Van (2002). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. National Academies Press (US).
