Elias Traboulsi, MD, MEd

Appointed
1997

Education & Fellowships

Fellowship - Children's Hospital National Medical Center
Pediatric Ophthalmology
Washington, DC
1990

Residency - Georgetown University Hospital
Ophthalmology
Washington, DC
1989

Fellowship - Johns Hopkins Hospital
Ophthalmic Genetics
Baltimore, MD
1986

Residency - American University of Beirut Medical Center
Ophthalmology
Beirut,
1985

Internship - American University of Beirut Medical Center
Internal Medicine
Beirut,
1982

Medical Education - American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
1982

Undergraduate - American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
1977

Graduate School - Cleveland State Univeristy
Cleveland, OH

Professional Highlights

• Editor-in-Chief, Ophthalmic Genetics
• Executive Editor, American Journal of Ophthalmology
• Author, Textbook of Genetic Diseases of the Eye, Oxford University Press
• Director, Vision First, a privately funded program for vision screening and detection of amblyopia and other eye diseases of children in the Cleveland Public Schools. More than 20,000 children examined to date.
• Past President, Current Executive Vice-President, International Society for Genetic Eye Diseases and Retinoblastoma

Certifications

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Genetics and Genomics - Clinical Genetics

Specialty Interests

childhood glaucoma, congenital cataracts, genetic eye diseases, ocular diseases of children, residency education, retinoblastoma, Strabismus

Awards & Honors

• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Member, 1981
• Fellowship Award, Children’s National Eye Care Foundation, 1989-1990
• Marshall M. Parks Fellowship Award, Costenbader Society, 1989-1990
• L. Harrell Pierce Wilmer Resident Teaching Award, 1995
• First Camille Matta Visiting Professor and Lecturer, American University of Beirut Medical Center, 1995
• Honor Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 1995
• Recognition Award for Outstanding Dedication and Leadership, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, 1990-1997
• Clinician Scientist Award, Cleveland Clinic Eye Institute, 1998
• Faculty Recognition Award, Joint Commission for Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology, 1998 
• Robb-Petersen Lectureship in pediatric ophthalmology, Boston Children’s Hospital, “The Clinical and Molecular Genetic Aspects of Ocular Malformations,” 1999
• John-Pratt Johnson Lectureship in pediatric ophthalmology, Canadian Orthoptic Society, “The Genetics of Strabismus,” 2000
• Inaugural Martha Leffler Lincoln Lectureship in pediatric ophthalmology, The Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, “Lid Fissure Configuration and Astigmatism in Children,” 2001
• Honor Award, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, 2002
• Physician-of-the-Year Award, Cleveland Clinic International Center, 2002
• Honorary Member, “Società Italiana Oftalmologia Genetica” (SIOG) (Italian Society of Genetic Ophthalmology), 2004
• Honorary Member, Columbian Pediatric Ophthalmology Group, 2004
• Georgia Knights Templar Educational Trust Lecturer, Emory Eye Center, Emory University, 2004
• Elected to the American Ophthalmological Society, 2004. Thesis: "Congenital Abnormalities of Cranial Nerve Development: Overview, Molecular Mechanisms and Further Evidence of Heterogeneity and Complexity of Syndromes with Congenital Limitation of Eye Movements”
• Senior Honor Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2005
• Ollendorff Lectureship, The Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University, New York, 2006
• Johnson Lectureship, Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Washington, 2006
• William B. Scott Lectureship, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa, 2007
• 35^th Victor G. Simpson Lectureship, Department of Ophthalmology, Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C., 2007
• Teacher of the Year, Cole Eye Institute, 2007
• Best Doctors in America, Several Years in a Row
• Funding from the National Eye Institute, Research to Prevent Blindness, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and other organizations as well as private funding

Memberships

• American Academy of Ophthalmology
• American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
• American Ophthalmological Society
• International Society for Genetic Eye Diseases and Retinoblastoma

See publications for Elias Traboulsi, MD, MEd.

(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.

To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.

As of 3/22/2025, Dr. Traboulsi has reported the financial relationships with the companies listed below. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Consulting and/or Speaking. Dr. Traboulsi receives fees of $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) as a paid consultant, speaker or as a member of an advisory committee for the following companies:

• SparingVision, Inc.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.