Researcher Spotlight: Carla Siegfried, MD
"Innovative research really can move things forward. We can make things better for our patients by improving our understanding of this very complex disease."
Carla Siegfried, MD started working in the field of glaucoma in the early 1990s, initially as a clinician treating glaucoma before expanding her interests to the study of glaucoma. She credits curiosity for leading her down the path of research. “Innovative research really can move things forward,” she said. “We can make things better for our patients by improving our understanding of this very complex disease.”
Carla first became interested in glaucoma when she was a resident at University of Illinois. “I liked the long-term aspect of it. I loved the continuity of care,” she told us. “It’s through that long term relationship with our patients that we can really get to know our patients and help them with their journey battling this chronic disease.”
She acknowledges her “incredible mentors” for motivating and inspiring her as a researcher. “Dr. Bernard Becker was the ‘father of glaucoma’ in the Midwest just as Dr. Shaffer was on the west coast,” she said. “Dr. Becker inspired an incredible legacy of glaucoma specialists who are now spread across the country.”
For her research project exploring the role of oxygen and antioxidant levels in the eye, Dr. Siegfried was awarded the 2018 Shaffer Prize for Innovative Glaucoma Research. The Shaffer Prize, presented annually by Glaucoma Research Foundation, recognizes a researcher whose project best exemplifies the pursuit of innovative ideas in the quest to better understand glaucoma.
In February 2025, Dr. Siegfried delivered the keynote address at New Horizons Forum in San Francisco. Her topic, “Glaucoma Racial Disparities: Applying Innovation from Bench to Clinic to Community,” also originated from her Shaffer Research Grant. More recently, she presented the 2025 Weston Lecture on the importance of studying racial disparities to optimize treatments for glaucoma.
Carla Siegfried, MD is The Jacquelyn E. and Allan E. Kolker, MD Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Professionalism at Washington University in St. Louis.
Article posted November 17, 2025.