Tara A. Mccannel MD, PhD

Tara McCannel, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is a leader in the field of ophthalmology and diseases of the retina and vitreous. She has pioneered new surgical treatment strategies in ocular melanoma that are both vision-saving and that provide patients with more knowledge about their cancer.

Dr. McCannel belongs to a number of professional organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Association of Ocular Oncology, the Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology, and the American Society of Retina Specialists. She is also a member of both the prestigious Retina and Macula Societies.

Dr. Tara McCannel earned her doctor of medicine degree at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. She also completed her internship and a four-year residency in ophthalmology at the University of Toronto's Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences.

Dr. McCannel was named Chief Resident in Ophthalmology and matriculated in the University’s Clinician Investigator Program, from which she earned her Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Graduate Studies, in the field of molecular biology. Before being recruited to UCLA, she completed a two-year vitreoretinal surgical fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Tara McCannel has garnered recognition for her superior scholarship and achievement. Since receiving her doctorate, she has been awarded several research grants. Dr. Tara McCannel sits on the editorial board and serves as a reviewer for more than a dozen medical journals, in addition to her medical and surgical responsibilities to her patients at UCLA.