FACULTY
R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, in the Emory Eye Center clinic
Doyle Stulting retires
R. Doyle Stulting (’82 cornea fellow) retired after 28 years at the Emory Eye Center on March 1. He will go into private practice in Atlanta.
Considered a leading authority in the areas of corneal and external disease, he is the President-elect of the ASCRS, taking on that leadership role in April. Additionally, he is the editor of the journal Cornea.
“Doyle Stulting is recognized internationally for his work in the area of corneal disease and refractive surgery. Doyle is one of our nations most knowledgeable and prolific experts in cornea and external disease as well as in refractive surgery. He has examined and describe various forms of infectious keratitis, published on corneal dystrophies, corneal transplantation, corneal ectasia and he is a thought leader in complex refractive surgery topics.” says Timothy W. Olsen. “We will miss him and wish him the best in his new endeavors.”
Stulting joined the Emory faculty as assistant professor of Ophthalmology in 1982 and was promoted to associate professor in 1985, granted tenure in 1986, and further promoted to professor of Ophthalmology in 1994.
Building on his basic science training in microbiology and immunology, Stulting’s career began with NIH-supported basic science research in herpetic keratitis and histocompatibility antigen expression. He became co-director of the NIH-supported multi-center trial to evaluate the effect of histocompatibility testing on corneal translation. He was a member, and ultimately chair, of the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel during a 10-year period, which facilitated his transition to an academic interest in ophthalmic devices and refractive surgery.
In the mid-90s, Stulting and his Emory colleagues obtained approval for a physician-sponsored Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to investigate LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) before the first refractive laser received approval for use in the United States, elevating the Emory Cornea Service to a position of national prominence.