Carol Lally Shields (born July 8, 1957)
biography at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Athletics Monogram Club (official website). Retrieved 22 October 2007. is an American ophthalmologist who is the Director of the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital. She is Professor of Ophthalmology at

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. ...

and consultant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Early life and undergraduate education

Shields was born Carol Lally in

Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwe ...

on July 8, 1957, graduating from Kennedy Christian High School in 1975. In 1979, she earned her undergraduate degree at the

, also playing

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

for the " Fighting Irish." She was a member of the first basketball team at Notre Dame, and later became captain of the team. She was also the first woman to receive the Byron Kanaley Award, the highest honor given to Notre Dame student-athletes, awarded for excellence in academics and leadership. She was inducted into the Capital All-American Hall of Fame in 2011 for excellence in athletics and academics. In 2023, she received the Theodore Roosevelt Award from the NCAA.

Medical education and career

Shields completed

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

at the

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, encompasses both a medical program, offering the doctor of ...

. Upon graduation from medical school, she moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to do a residency at Thomas Jefferson University at Wills Eye Hospital and joined the staff at Wills Eye Hospital where she specialized in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and eye cancers.Carol Shields
Wills Eye Hospital. Accessed 2007-09-09. Shields is the coauthor (with Jerry A. Shields, her husband) of a number of texts including: ''Atlas of Orbital

Tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

s'', ''Atlas of Intraocular Tumors'', and ''Atlas of

Eyelid An eyelid ( ) is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. "Palpebral ...

and

Conjunctiva In the anatomy of the eye, the conjunctiva (: conjunctivae) is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with gobl ...

l Tumors''. She is also co-editor of a comprehensive book entitled, "Retinoblastoma", published recently. Currently, Shields and her husband Dr. Jerry A. Shields head up the

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

department at the

Wills Eye Hospital Wills Eye Hospital is a non-profit eye clinic and hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1832 and is the oldest continually operating eye-care facility in the United States. It is the ophthalmology residency program for T ...

.Retinoblastoma
Wills Eye Health System, Accessed 2010-01-07 Located in

, the Wills Eye Hospital sees at least 50% of the 300 children diagnosed with

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and 80% of retinoblastoma cas ...

each year and at least 1/3 of the adults diagnosed with ocular melanoma in the USA. She was voted by her peers to be in the 2014 and 2016 Ophthalmology Top 100 Power List, which comprises a list of the top 100 most influential people in ophthalmology in the world. There have been only two "Top 100" Power Lists – she was on both. She is also the recipient of the Donders Award (2003) given by the Netherlands Ophthalmological Society every 5 years to an ophthalmologist worldwide who has contributed extensively to the field of ophthalmology. She was the first woman ever to receive this award.

References

External links

The Ocular Oncology Service of Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Carol American ophthalmologists American women ophthalmologists Living people 1957 births Physicians from Philadelphia University of Notre Dame alumni Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players

Early life and undergraduate education

Medical education and career

See also

References

External links