Edward J. Holland, M.D.
Dr. Edward J. Holland, a world-renowned leader in corneal transplantation and severe ocular surface disease, is dedicated to advancing care for patients with complex ocular conditions. Through this initiative, Centers of Excellence (COEs) focused on the advanced sight restoration procedures of Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation (OSST) are being launched across the country. As part of its mission, the foundation is also committed to broadening education and training so that more physicians nationwide can learn and implement The Cincinnati ProtocolTM for the management of these patients.
Dr. Holland has attracted worldwide referrals for medical and surgical corneal problems and for ocular surface stem cell transplantation, treating patients who have lost the ability to regenerate the ocular surface cells that provide a clear cornea necessary for normal vision. His clinical work includes Corneal Transplantation, Cataract Surgery and OSST.
Located in the Cincinnati area, The Holland Center for the Restoration of Sight, stood as the only center of its kind in the world. Since 2000, Dr. Holland has been referred thousands of patients and performed surgery on over 1,200 eyes – from all 50 states as well as Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, and several countries of Europe.
“We specialize in patients that have severe ocular injuries including chemical burns, thermal burns, inherited corneal diseases and chronic, severe medical problems that result in the loss of the normal ocular surface of the eye,” said Dr. Holland, Director of Cornea Services at Cincinnati Eye Institute and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati.
“The most severe patients end up with loss of the skin-producing stem cells called the limbal stem cells, which results in corneal scaring and then, unfortunately, severe blindness,” he said. “To treat these patients, we transplant the specialized ocular surface stem cells of the eye from a relative or a deceased donor. Patients then require oral antirejection medications similar to organ transplant patients. The management paradigm we developed is called The Cincinnati ProtocolTM.”
Edward J. Holland, M.D., is the Director of Cornea Services at Cincinnati Eye Institute and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati. He attended the Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago and trained in Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. He completed a fellowship in cornea and external disease at the University of Iowa and then completed a second fellowship in ocular immunology at the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He returned to the University of Minnesota and served as Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service. He was promoted to the position of Professor and was granted the Elias Potter Lyon Chair in Ophthalmology. He also served as President of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Holland formerly served as the President for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and served as the Program Chair for 12 years. Dr. Holland was a former member of the Board of Trustees for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and served as the Secretariat of the Annual Meeting. Dr. Holland has served as the Chair of the Eye Bank Association and was the former Chair of the Medical Advisory Board as well as a longtime member of the Board of Directors. He is the past President of the Cornea Society and previously served many years on its Board of Directors.
Dr. Holland has received numerous national and international awards including the Castroviejo Award from the Cornea Society. He has received both the Honor Award, Senior Achievement Award and Life Achievement Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He was awarded the Binkhorst Medal and the Lindstrom Medal by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He was a recipient of the Paton Society Award given by the Eye Bank Association of America and was awarded the Asian Cornea Foundation Medal of Honor.
Dr. Holland has published extensively in both basic and clinical research and is the author of over 300 articles in peer review journals. Dr. Holland was the co-principal investigator of the Cornea Donor Study, the largest clinical trial conducted in the field of cornea. He has co-edited five editions of Cornea, the most widely read textbook on corneal disease and surgery.
Dr. Holland is Co-Founder and serves as an ex officio member of the Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration. The foundation’s vision is “To ensure those suffering from corneal blindness have access to life-changing treatments and lifetime follow-up care” and its mission is “To establish ‘Centers of Excellence’ that will provide patient access and sustainability of care for the treatment of corneal blindness.”
