Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI)

Established in 1966, the UCLA Stein Eye Institute vision-science campus is the fulfillment of an ambitious plan by ophthalmologist, businessman, and philanthropist Jules Stein, MD, and Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, founding director of the Stein Eye Institute and founding chairman of the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology, who created a bold plan for preventing blindness through comprehensive programs for patient care, vision-science research, education and training of the next generation of physicians, and eye health outreach both local and global. Under the leadership of Bartly J. Mondino, MD, director and chairman since 1994, a broad agenda of program building and expansion has been implemented: the first Stein Eye Center opened in Santa Monica in 2012; the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology created the nation’s preeminent organization for ophthalmic care and vision research by forging a historic affiliation with the Doheny Eye Institute in 2013; and the Edie & Lew Wasserman Building, a landmark research and patient-care facility with a state-of-the-art outpatient surgical center, opened in 2014. Combined, UCLA Stein Eye Institute, Stein Eye Center, Doheny Eye Center UCLA, and UCLA-affiliated hospitals provide patients across the Southland with access to the finest vision care.

The Institute’s philosophy about patient care has been unaltered in 50 years: care is both the primary goal and the ultimate expression of the Institute’s research and education. Patient care has expanded and flourished since the Institute was founded; from 23,000 patient visits in the first full year, the Institute now treats more than 1,000 patients a day at the Westwood vision-science campus, and hundreds more at UCLA-affiliated hospitals and vision care centers across Southern California. 

The Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, a worldwide leader and innovator in eye care, has long been recognized for outstanding advancements in vision sciences and the highest quality patient care. Consistently ranked as the best eye care center in the Western United States by U.S. News & World Report and Ophthalmology Times, the Stein Eye Institute offers a full range of services for patients of all ages—services that are provided in private consultation with some of the most skilled and highly qualified eye and vision care specialists in the world.

The primary areas of basic vision science represented within the Institute are biophysics, chemistry and biochemistry, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular and cell biology, neurobiology, pharmacology and physiology. Research areas within the field of ophthalmology include cataract, external ocular and corneal disease, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmic pathology, orbital and ophthalmic plastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, and retinal disease.

For more information, please visit the Stein Eye Institute site.

Last updated
January 24, 2025