Biography and CV

About Neal A. Sher, M.D., F.A.C.S. | Curriculum Vitae

About Neal A. Sher, M.D., F.A.C.S.

A native of New York, Dr. Neal Sher, received his B.A. and M.D. degrees with honors from Boston University at the age of 22. He then began training in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, with a plan to focus in pediatric hematology/oncology.

After his pediatric internship, Dr. Sher entered the U.S. Public Health Service in 1972 and became a staff associate at the National Institute of Health. He spent the next three years in Bethesda, Maryland, performing tumor immunology and immunotherapy research and authoring a number of papers in that field. At that time, he became interested in ocular immunology and in 1975 and return to the Twin Cities to complete an ophthalmology residency at the University of Minnesota. He then received additional corneal and external disease fellowship training at Moorfield's Eye Hospital in London.

Returning to Minneapolis, he entered private practice and is currently a partner with Eye Care Associates, P.A., a group of ophthalmologists and optometrists with four office locations in the Twin Cities. Dr. Sher is an attending surgeon at the Phillips Eye Institute where he was a founding member in 1984 and has served as Chief of Ophthalmology. Active in teaching other doctors and students, Dr. Sher has been on the faculty of the University of Minnesota Medical School since 1979 and at present holds the rank of Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology.

Since 1988, Dr. Sher has devoted considerable time to studying and working in the field of refractive surgery. His current research interests include corneal laser surgery, LASIK, PRK, PTK, CK, wound healing and pain control. He has studied the effect of eye movement during excimer laser surgery, and he holds several patents on related medical devices. Dr. Sher performs all of his laser vision correction procedures at the Phillips Eye Institute.

He is the author of a textbook entitled Surgery for Hyperopia and Presbyopia, published in 1997 by Williams and Wilkins. It was the first book devoted to this topic. In 2004, Dr. Sher edited a second textbook devoted to this subject, Surgery for Hyperopia, published by Slack Inc. Dr. Sher authored a monograph on postoperative care after laser corneal surgery (PRK) as well as an Atlas of Refractive Surgery, both published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Additionally, he has published other chapters on refractive surgery and related topics in medical textbooks and a number of scientific articles. He is frequently asked to speak in the United States and overseas.

Dr. Sher served on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Refractive Surgery, which has a worldwide membership of 1,800 surgeons who have a special interest in refractive surgery. That organization also awarded him its prestigious Troutman Medal in 1994 for his paper and research on pain control in corneal laser surgery. He was the first American to win the award. The American Academy of Ophthalmology awarded its Achievement Award to Dr. Sher in 1999.

Dr. Sher has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for a number of ophthalmologic clinical trials as well as a consultant for a number of ophthalmic-related companies as well as law firms, insurance companies and investment banks. He is on the Medical Advisory Board for VISX, Inc... He has served as a member of the Preferred Practice Patterns Panel of the American Academy of Ophthalmology for Refractive Errors and Refractive Surgery. Additionally, he has served on the editorial board of EyeWorld and Clinical Signs in Ophthalmology.

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