A Tribute To Carl D. Regillo, MD, FASRS
Honoring Carl D. Regillo, MD, FASRS
Dr. Carl Regillo is director of the Retina Service of Wills Eye Hospital and professor of ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He is a principal investigator of numerous major international clinical trials investigating new forms of treatment for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and a variety of other retinal conditions.
Carl Regillo is the founder and former director of the Wills Eye Clinical Retina Research Unit, and a past chair of the Wills Eye Institutional Review Board and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Basic and Clinical Science Course. He has also served as program director for the Wills Retina Fellowship and is a former examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Regillo has authored over 300 scientific papers, lectured nationally and abroad, and has published 9 major ophthalmic textbooks. He has served on the scientific editorial boards of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Review of Ophthalmology, Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, Yearbook of Ophthalmology, Retinal Physician, and Retina Today.
In addition to being a member and fellow of the ASRS, Carl Regillo is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active member of the AAO, The Retina Society, and The Macula Society. He has received numerous recognitions and honors, including the ASRS Founders Award in 2020; the AAO Achievement, Senior Achievement, Secretariat, and Lifetime Achievement awards; and the ASRS Honor, Senior Honor and Presidential Honor awards.
Dr. Regillo is a Phi Kappa Phi graduate of Northeastern University College of Pharmacy, where he was the class valedictorian. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School on a full military scholarship. Dr. Regillo completed his internship in internal medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and both his ophthalmology residency and vitreoretinal fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital, where he was appointed the co-chief resident and awarded a Heed Ophthalmic Fellowship.
After training, he was commissioned as a major in the United States Air Force and was stationed for 4 years as a vitreoretinal surgeon at the San Diego Naval Medical Center. There he was co-director of the Ophthalmology Department’s Retina Service, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of California San Diego, and recipient of a Naval Commendation Medal and the Ophthalmology Department’s annual teaching award. In 1998, he returned to Philadelphia to join Mid Atlantic Retina and the Retina Service of Wills Eye Hospital.
Outside of patient care, research, and teaching, Dr. Regillo enjoys spending time with his wife of 36 years, Teresa and their 2 adult children who are the joy of their lives. Dr. Regillo and Teresa also love sports, food, wine, and travel.
Testimonials
“Carl Regillo embodies the kind of physician and surgeon that I strive to embody. His unwavering curiosity, intellect, integrity, and drive to iterate and evolve our field have made him one of the most impactful mentors of my career.
Although I am nearly a decade out of fellowship training, he continues to guide and inspire my own work. The contributions he has made to improving our treatment and understanding of retinal disease are truly staggering, profoundly impacting the way we practice in the clinic and operating room.
On top of everything, Carl is an impressive athlete and he is hard to keep up with on a bike and the slopes! There have been and will be few like Dr. Regillo—and fewer still whose influence will so enduringly shape both our field and the people within it.”
~Murtaza K. Adam, MD, FASRS
“Carl Regillo typifies excellence in teaching, clinical care, and research. I was fortunate to begin my fellowship at Wills when Carl was a new attending, and I was a new fellow.
Despite his many responsibilities, Carl always made time for his fellows. He was instrumental in shaping my career, emphasizing commitment to patient-centered care and meaningful research, even in the face of obstacles. Wills is blessed with incredible mentors and teachers, but Carl has set the standard for placing trainees on the path to success.
Carl stays behind so others can move forward. That sentiment says it all—he treats everyone with kindness and compassion and elevates those around him. Carl leads by example and manages with purpose.
I have been blessed to learn from him and continue to learn from him. It has been a true privilege to form a personal and professional relationship. There is only one Carl Regillo, and he deserves to be honored for his mentorship.”
~Garuav K. Shah, MD, FASRS
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