Jennifer Lindsey, MD, MBA, Named Director of the Residency Program and Vice Chair for Education
Dr. Lindsey joins us with an impressive background and a wealth of accomplishments. She earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed her ophthalmology residency at Cullen Eye Institute. In 2020, she completed the American Academy of Ophthalmology Leadership Development Program, and earlier this year, she earned her Executive MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Lindsey worked briefly in private practice before joining the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Vanderbilt University in 2006. In 2014, she was named Assistant Chief of the Ophthalmology Section at the VA and has been serving as Acting Chief since April. She has served as Director of Resident Education at Vanderbilt since 2018 and was named the James H. Elliott Director of Resident Education in 2021. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in modernizing the residency curriculum with cutting-edge technologies and innovative teaching methodologies. Notably, she developed Vanderbilt Eye Online, a curated electronic curricular platform for ophthalmology residents, a first step toward tailoring curricula for the next generation of digital native learners.
Dr. Lindsey’s outstanding contributions in education have been recognized with several awards, including the Surgical Instruction Award in 2008, 2010, and 2012, and the Denis O’Day Excellence in Clinical Instruction Award in 2014 and 2017. She is also an elected member of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Academy for Excellence in Education.
Dr. Lindsey is a highly regarded and active member of the Association for University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) and is currently the President-Elect of the Program Directors Council, a member of the Communications Committee, and of the Working Groups for Advocacy and for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also served as past President of the Association of Veterans Affairs Ophthalmologists, where she spearheaded the organization’s engagement on the VA national standards of practice.
"We are pleased to have successfully recruited such a talented educational leader to Harvard Ophthalmology and Mass Eye and Ear. I can’t think of a more qualified individual to take our programs to the next level, and I know that Dr. Lindsey will be an important member of our leadership team," said Joan W. Miller, MD, Chair of Harvard Ophthalmology. "I want to thank the members of the search committee for their excellent work, and also thank the many interested candidates, internal and external."
Dr. Lindsey will join the faculty in September, and along with her leadership roles, will join the Comprehensive Ophthalmology Service at Mass Eye and Ear. She will be joined by her husband Scott Bluerock, a surgical nurse who served as a Captain in the US Air Force prior to joining the VA system in 2007. She will also be closer to her daughter and son, Allison and Walker, who are attending Smith College in Northampton and Amherst College.
Dr. Lindsey succeeds Alice Lorch, MD, MPH, in her educational leadership roles. Dr. Lorch has been a driving force behind many of our educational initiatives, including establishing a structured wellness curriculum, developing programs to improve diversity in our field, strengthening the surgical training curriculum, incorporating the PGY1 year at Newton Wellesley Hospital, and expanding our residency class size from 8 to 9 per year. In April, Dr. Lorch took on a new leadership role for Mass General Brigham, as Associate Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Mass General Hospital, Mass Eye and Ear, and the Massachusetts General Physician Organization. Dr. Lorch will also serve as Director of GME for Mass Eye and Ear and will work with Dr. Lindsey in this role.
“I am thrilled for Dr. Lindsey to join us. We are confident that her vision and expertise will continue to elevate our reputation as a leader in ophthalmology and drive our mission of excellence in education, research, and patient care. I’m excited for what’s to come,” said Dr. Lorch.