Liliana Werner

About Liliana Werner

Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Co-Director of the Intermountain Ocular Research Center at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; and Associate Editor of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery

What is your proudest professional achievement?

A recent achievement that gives me great joy and pride is being named the US Associate Editor of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery in June 2020. I am the first woman to hold this position since the journal’s creation, but hopefully, will not be the last. I truly enjoy this work, and learn from it every single day.

Why is it important to celebrate women in the field this way?

Despite the increasing numbers of women in medical schools and residency programs, we still do not see the same proportion in leadership roles, or at the podium. It is therefore important to increase awareness that there are amazingly accomplished women in ophthalmology and other medical fields.

What can be done to make the field more diverse? 

Current leaders in academia, private practices, and industry have to systematically make a point to increase women representation and maintain equity at the workplace, in professional societies, or in scientific programs among speakers, as women are certainly as qualified and gifted as their male counterparts in ophthalmology or other professional areas.