The Scheie Eye Institute welcomes Kristin Hammersmith, MD, an award-winning ophthalmologist specializing in advanced corneal transplantation, management of corneal infections, and ocular surface disease. Dr. Hammersmith currently serves as Director of the Corneal Fellowship and Professor in Ophthalmology, affiliated with both the Scheie Eye Institute and the Division of Ophthalmology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Hammersmith is also actively involved in the training of corneal fellows and ophthalmology residents, with a deep commitment to education and clinical excellence in the field of ophthalmology.
Dr. Hammersmith completed her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina. She then attended medical school at the West Virginia School of Medicine in Morgantown, West Virginia. Following an internship in Internal Medicine at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, she completed her ophthalmology residency at the prestigious Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Subsequently, she joined Wills Eye Hospital as a Cornea and External Disease Fellow. Continuing at Wills Eye, Dr. Hammersmith served as the Director of the Corneal Fellowship and an active member of the Cornea Service. While at Wills Eye, she helped run a multidisciplinary ocular pemphigoid clinic, treating patients presenting from across the world. Dr. Hammersmith also served as an Associate Professor in Ophthalmology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Hammersmith has been an active member of several professional and scientific societies, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, The Cornea Society, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ophthalmology, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the Ophthalmic Club of Philadelphia, where she served as Secretary-Treasurer and then as President. In an editorial realm, Dr. Hammersmith served as Section Editor for Cornea and External Disease at Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, held from 2003 to 2014. Additionally, she was the Anterior Segment Editor for Recognizing Eye Disease: The RED Atlas from 2002 to 2007, and a Section Editor for the Year Book of Ophthalmology from 2003 to 2013. Dr. Hammersmith specializes in performing state-of-the-art corneal surgeries, including full-thickness corneal transplantation and partial thickness endothelial keratoplasty. She has a strong interest in keratoprostheses, limbal stem cell transplantation, and collagen crosslinking for the management of keratoconus and post-LASIK ectasia. As a corneal specialist, she treats corneal infections, corneal dystrophies, dry eye syndrome, and other diseases of the cornea and external eye.