Paul J. Dougherty

Paul Joseph Dougherty (born 1963) is an American ophthalmologist, refractive eye surgeon, and philanthropist. He is the founder and medical director of Dougherty Laser Vision, a network of refractive surgery centers in Southern California, and serves as a Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute. Dougherty is also the founder of the Andrew Dougherty Vision Foundation And Co-founder of the Vision Innovation Institute (Q136648449), organizations focused on preventing blindness and advancing ophthalmic technologies worldwide.

Early life and education

Dougherty was born in 1963 in Pennsylvania. He graduated as salutatorian from Lewistown Area High School in 1981 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in the Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

He received his Doctor of Medicine from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in 1989, where he was class valedictorian and elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed an internship in internal medicine at UCLA Medical Center in 1990 and an ophthalmology residency at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute from 1990 to 1993. He then completed a fellowship in corneal and refractive surgery under Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, at the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis.

Career

Clinical practice

In 1996, Dougherty founded Dougherty Laser Vision in Ventura County, California, which has since expanded to several locations across Southern and Central California. He specializes in laser and lens-based refractive surgery, cataract surgery innovations, and treatments for keratoconus and presbyopia. He has performed thousands of refractive and lens-based vision correction procedures including LASIK, PRK, SMILE, ICL, and refractive lens exchange.

Dougherty has served as a principal investigator on multiple FDA-regulated clinical studies involving implantable collamer lenses, topography-guided LASIK, and accommodating intraocular lenses. His research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Refractive Surgery, Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and Clinical Ophthalmology.

Dougherty serves as a reviewer for multiple ophthalmic journals and is a founding member of the World College of Refractive Surgeons. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Teaching and mentorship

Dougherty holds a clinical teaching appointment at UCLA and has mentored students in entrepreneurship programs at Harvard Business School. He regularly presents at ophthalmology conferences and has instructed physician certification courses for excimer and femtosecond laser systems.

Publications

Dougherty has authored or co-authored over two dozen peer-reviewed scientific papers on topics including phakic intraocular lenses, LASIK outcomes, and presbyopic intraocular lenses. He is the author of See for Yourself: The Eye-Opening Guide to Permanent Vision Correction (Visionary Press, 2012).

Philanthropy and innovation

Following the death of his son Andrew in 2007, Dougherty founded the Andrew Dougherty Vision Foundation (ADVF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Topanga, California. The foundation provides free cataract and refractive surgeries in underserved regions, donates ophthalmic equipment, and trains local physicians. ADVF missions have taken place in Haiti, Lebanon, and Palestine, in partnership with the UNRWA and Project Peace on Earth.

Dougherty is also co-founder of the Vision Innovation Institute, an organization developing technology-driven solutions to reduce global blindness.

Awards and recognition

Dougherty received the Eye Care Professional of the Year Tauber Award from the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation in 2016. He has been recognized as a Southern California “Super Doctor” by the Los Angeles Times Media Group and listed among “America’s Top Ophthalmologists” by the Consumers’ Research Council.

Media appearances

Dougherty’s work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Doctors, NBC’s Today, and E! News. He also served as the staff LASIK surgeon on TLC’s Ten Years Younger and The Style Network’s Modern Beauty.

See also

  • Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
  • Phakic intraocular lens
  • Cataract surgery