Dr. Carol Lally Shields is a world-renowned eye oncologist who has made a name for herself in the field of ophthalmology. She is the head of the Eye Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital and professor of ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Shields completed her ophthalmology training at Wills Eye in 1987 and later completed a fellowship in ocular oncology, oculoplastic surgery, and ophthalmic pathology.
Shields has contributed more than 1,500 articles and chapters to the medical literature on eye cancer. Her work has included some of the most advanced and successful treatments in the field of eye oncology, such as plaque radiation therapy and radiation surgery with Cyberknife. She has also been able to save many eyes with intraocular melanoma using a tiny, custom-designed radiation therapy device. Shields' special interests include pediatric eye cancer, such as retinoblastoma, as well as adult eye cancer, such as melanoma, conjunctival tumors, and orbital tumors.
She has presented more than 900 conferences around the world and has received many distinguished national and international awards. Wills Eye Hospital is a multi-specialty outpatient surgery center located in Philadelphia that offers the full range of primary and subspecialized eye care to improve and preserve vision. Ten notable women who are Wills Eye Hospital faculty doctors and former Wills Eye students have been included in the inaugural Power List women's list, published by The Ophthalmologist. At 75 years old, Shields is still actively involved in research and treatment of eye cancer.
She is an advocate for early treatment for intraocular melanoma and continues to seek better ways to preserve the eye for young patients. Shields is an inspiration to many aspiring ophthalmologists, showing that age is no barrier to making a difference in the world.
