About the Chair
- Chair of Ophthalmology
Dr. Steven Brooks is chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Brooks is also William S. Hagler, MD Chair in Ophthalmology and is co-director of the AU James and Jean Culver Vision Discovery Institute, along with professor & basic scientist, Dr. Manuela Bartoli.
Brooks was an associate professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at MCG from 1994-2001 before leaving to establish a private practice in Augusta, then joining the faculty at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2013 returning to MCG in January 2020.
Brooks, former Anne S. Cohen Professor of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Columbia, also served as medical director of Jonas Children’s Vision Care, an integrated effort between Columbia University Medical Center and Jonas Philanthropies to prevent and treat blindness and other serious eye disorders in children.
An expert in the treatment of strabismus, or crossed eyes, he also has published research about a variety of other vision issues that affect children, including retinopathy of prematurity, pediatric glaucoma and new ocular surgery techniques to treat strabismus.
Brooks is a member of the Research Committee of the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and serves on the editorial board of that group’s journal. He is a member of the American Board of Ophthalmology’s Exam Development Committee and is part of the Scientific Review Committee for Fight for Sight, Inc., a nonprofit organization in the United States which funds medical research in vision and ophthalmology and was the first nonprofit in the United States to fund vision research.
An honored educator, he was the 2019 recipient of Surgical Teacher of the Year in Ophthalmology at Columbia University and a 2016 recipient of the university’s Phillip Knapp Resident Teaching Award in Ophthalmology. He is an associate examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Brooks received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles County Medical Center and a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the University of Michigan W. K. Kellogg Eye Center.