Peter K. Kaiser, MD

Peter K. Kaiser, MD, is the Chaney Family Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research and a professor of ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internal medicine internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, an ophthalmology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (currently known as Massachusetts Eye and Ear), and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, where he was awarded a Heed Ophthalmic fellowship before joining the Vitreoretinal Department of the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, OH.

As a National Eye Institute– and National Institutes of Health R01–funded principal investigator, Dr Kaiser leads a team involved in the evaluation of vascular biology in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. In addition, he is actively involved in clinical research, having served as study chairman for numerous major multicenter international clinical trials and as principal investigator for more than 60 trials evaluating new treatments for age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other retinal disorders. He is the director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE). 

Complementing his research endeavors, Dr Kaiser serves on numerous scientific advisory boards and addresses his research interests as an invited speaker at national and international conferences. He is a major contributor to the medical literature, having authored 7 textbooks, 30 book chapters, and more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is the editor in chief of Retinal Physician and an associate editor of International Ophthalmology Clinics, and he serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, RETINA, Retina Today, and Ocular Surgery News. 

Dr Kaiser has been honored to receive the Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness and the Young Investigator Award from The Macula Society. He has also been recognized by the American Society of Retina Specialists Honor and Senior Honor awards, along with the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement, Senior Achievement, and Lifetime Achievement awards. He has been listed as one of the “Best Doctors in America” every year since 2002, was named as one of the “150 Top Innovators in Retina” by Ocular Surgery News, was selected as a charter inductee of the Retina Hall of Fame in 2017, and has appeared on the biannual “Power List” for The Ophthalmologist in 2016, 2018, and 2020 as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology. He is the team ophthalmologist for the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association).