Judy E. Kim
Judy E. Kim
Judy E. Kim, MD is an internationally well-known, award-winning vitreoretinal specialist. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami and her vitreoretinal fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). Currently, she is a Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences with tenure and a Professor of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the MCW.
As a Korean American who immigrated from South Korea, Dr. Kim has achieved many firsts. She is the first Korean American to be elected into the American Ophthalmological Society, which is the oldest medical society in the country; the first to become a member of all three US retina societies (American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), Macula, and Retina); the first to become a Board of Trustee member for American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO); and the second to become a Professor of Ophthalmology in the United States and the first to do so in the retina. She is only the second woman to serve on the executive committee of ASRS, the largest retina organization in the world with members from 60 countries, and will be only the second woman to serve as the President of ASRS. She is currently the chair of Women in Retina and strives to mentor the next generation of retina specialists.
Dr. Kim has held leadership positions in multiple committees of AAO, Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology, Macula Society, ASRS, Retina Society, and Milwaukee Ophthalmological Society. She serves on a number of editorial boards including JAMA Ophthalmology, OSLI, and Ocular Surgery News, and is a member of the Board of NAEVR/AEVR and the National Eye Health Education Group of National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Kim has received numerous awards and honors, especially for her clinical excellence, leadership, and service to organizations. She has received Honor Award and Senior Honor Award from ASRS, Achievement Award and Senior Achievement Award from AAO, Heed Foundation Fellowship, and Women Pioneers Research Award. She is the recipient of the prestigious Suzanne Veronneau-Troutman Award from Women in Ophthalmology. She has been named in the “Best Doctor” annually since 2003 and was among the inaugural 150 members selected into the “Retina Hall of Fame.”
Dr. Kim has published over 200 papers and given over 400 presentations, including over 150 invited national and international presentations and named lectures. She has mentored numerous students, residents, fellows, and international retina specialists. She has been actively involved with over 60 multicenter clinical trials and has served as a vice-chair of the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Retina network, in which she currently serves as a national study chair for Protocol AE. She leads the TeleEye Health Collaborative in Wisconsin. She initiated a program called the “Eyes on the Future” to mentor under-represented minority middle school students.
In addition to diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, her research interests include surgical retina, telemedicine, ocular imaging, and community-engaged research. Her passion is to improve people’s lives.
She is married to Dr. John K. Hur and has a daughter who is an OB/GYN resident and a son who is a first lieutenant in Marine Corps, studying to become a pilot. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, gardening, playing the piano, photography, traveling, and culinary adventures.