Future of Eye Banking and Corneal Transplantation Panel

Bennie H. Jeng, MD, is Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Scheie Eye Institute at Penn Medicine. Dr. Jeng is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and he completed his residency training and chief residency at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, followed by a fellowship in cornea and external diseases at the Proctor Foundation/University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He was on the faculty at the Cole Eye Institute and UCSF and was most recently a profession and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Jeng was a past participant of the EBAA Physician Leadership Program, as well as a past member of the Board of Directors. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Accreditation Board and Chair of the Research Committee and also serves on the Medical Advisory Board and Scientific Programs Committee. Dr. Jeng is also currently serving as Chair of the Cornea Society. 

Jennifer Li, MD, is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the UC Davis Eye Center where she is the Director of the Cornea and External Disease Service and the Fellowship Director. Dr. Li received her medical degree and completed her residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and subsequently completed a fellowship in Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery at UC Davis. She is also the Co-Medical Director of Sierra Donor Services in Sacramento, California. Dr. Li is the Chair of the EBAA Board of Directors and has served on various EBAA committees including EBAA Accreditation Board, the Scientific Programs Committee and as Chair of the Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Li received the R. Townley Paton Award in 2021 for her contributions to the EBAA, sight restoration and corneal transplantation.

Mark A. Greiner, MD, is the Robert and Joell Brightfelt Professor of Cornea Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Iowa, where he directs the Cornea, External Diseases and Refractive Surgery service and fellowship program. Dr. Greiner is the Medical Director of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank, and has served in various leadership roles within eye banking including on the Eye Bank Association of America’s Board of Directors and Research Committee. Additionally, he is a clinician-scientist with a translational research laboratory based at Iowa Lions Eye Bank.

 After earning his undergraduate degree in English with High Honors from the University of California at Berkeley, he received his medical degree and completed both internship and residency in Ophthalmology at the University of California at Davis. After completing fellowship training in Cornea and External Diseases at Devers Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon with Dr. Mark Terry and Michael Straiko, he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2012.  In addition to his longstanding interests in endothelial keratoplasty and resident medical education, Dr. Greiner’s current focus is on mitochondrial biology and cellular metabolism, diabetes mellitus, and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy.

M. Soledad Cortina, MD, is Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and attending physician in the Cornea Service at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Dr. Cortina serves as Director of the Keratoprosthesis Artificial Cornea Program, and Director of the Infirmary’s Comprehensive Ophthalmology Faculty Practice and General Eye Clinic. She is also co-director of the cornea fellowship program. Dr. Cortina joined the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary as a board-certified cornea specialist in 2010. She received her medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine, Argentina. Dr. Cortina completed her residency at Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine; a research fellowship at Louisiana State University’s Neuroscience Center; and a clinical fellowship in cornea at UIC’s Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. She currently serves as Medical Director for Eversight. Dr. Cortina currently serves as Vice-Chair of the EBAA Scientific Programs Committee and a member of the Accreditation Board and Medical Advisory Board. 

Brian Philippy, BS, BCHe, CEBT, is the Director of Transplant and Research at the Lions Medical Eye Bank and Research Center of Eastern Virginia. Brian is a consummate eye banker who started in Minnesota in 1997 and transferred to the Tidewater region of Virginia in 2005, where he serves in Quality, Technical, and Distribution roles. In addition to numerous consulting gigs, Brian also served as a Director of Operations for Vision Share (as well as other roles) between 2007 and 2015 (concurrent with Virginia director roles). Throughout these different appointments, Brian's personal passion is in the arena of distribution - finding homes for every transplantable graft and intentionally filling challenging research requests. Brian has served EBAA in numerous areas including serving on the Board of Directors, the Accreditation Board, Medical Advisory Board, and the Statistical Report Committee. Brian received the Leonard Heise Award in 2022 for his contributions to the EBAA and sight restoration.