Jerry Shields

About Jerry Shields

Jerry Shields

Professor, Thomas Jefferson University; Co-Director, Wills Eye Hospital Ocular Oncology Service, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Shields established the Wills Eye Ocular Oncology service in 1974. He has published more than 800 articles, with his main interest being choroidal melanoma and retinoblastoma. He has pioneered the use of many new ocular anticancer therapies, and was instrumental in popularizing plaque radiotherapy for the treatment of choroidal melanoma. With his colleagues, he has improved the techniques of local irradiation, local surgical resection, laser photocoagulation, and thermotherapy. His research resulted in improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of many benign and malignant tumor types, such as tumors of the ciliary body epithelium, pigment epithelium, and leiomyomas. He has authored or co-authored more than 1,200 articles and textbook chapters, and has authored or co-authored 13 major textbooks related to ocular tumors. He continues to be a leader in eye cancer research, both nationally and internationally.