Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Moran Eye Center, University of Utah
Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD joined the faculty of the Moran Eye Center of the University of Utah in 1995 where he currently divides his time equally between basic science retina research and a clinical practice devoted to medical and surgical treatment of disease of the retina and vitreous with special emphasis on macular and retinal degenerations. He was promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 2007 and awarded an endowed professorship in 2008. Dr. Bernstein did his undergraduate, MD and PhD training at Harvard University, his ophthalmology residency at Jules Stein Eye Institute, and his vitreoretinal fellowship at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. Dr. Bernstein’s current research interests are focused on the biochemistry and biophysics of nutritional interventions against inherited and acquired ocular disorders. His laboratory is a leader in the study of the proteins involved in the uptake and stabilization of lutein and zeaxanthin in the human macula. In collaboration with Dr. Werner Gellermann of the University of Utah Physics Department, he has developed instrumentation to measure carotenoid levels noninvasively in the eye, skin, and other human tissues using resonance Raman spectroscopy. In addition to its important potential medical uses, this patented technology has been enthusiastically embraced by the nutritional supplementation industry—thousands of these Biophotonic Scanners® are already in consumer use throughout the world. Dr. Bernstein has authored over two hundred peer-reviewed research articles and reviews as well as eight book chapters, and he has served as a reviewer for numerous journals, foundations, and institutes. Dr. Bernstein was a principal investigator for the AREDS2 study and a member of the executive and writing committees.