WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Katherine E. Talcott, MD, was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the middle of three girls, and attended Catholic school through high school. She studied history of science as an undergraduate at Harvard College and wrote her thesis on bloodletting.
During medical school at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), she was drawn to the care of underserved populations. She pursued her residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) and spent an extra year after residency doing a chief residency before completing her surgical retina fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital/Mid Atlantic Retina. After completing fellowship, she moved back to Cleveland with her husband and 3-year-old twins to start practice at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
HER PATH TO RETINA
Dr. Talcott is myopic, and she saw a retina specialist as a teenager for concerns for a retinal tear. Thus, she thought it would be good to learn more about the retina and, as an undergraduate, worked at the Cole Eye Institute in the basic science lab of pediatric retinal specialist Jonathan Sears, MD. She found the retina to be fascinating. During medical school, she was exposed to the clinical side of ophthalmology and loved the mix of medicine and surgery. During her research year with Jacque L. Duncan, MD, at UCSF, she analyzed adaptive optic images in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, which furthered her interest in retina. During residency, she loved the excitement of retina, with new technologies and therapeutics always being developed.
Dr. Talcott’s Advice: Pick a job that offers as much of what you are looking for as possible, and then show up interested and ready to work. It’s surprising what opportunities arise that allow you to craft a career that gets you all the things you were looking for.
SUPPORT ALONG THE WAY
Dr. Talcott has been fortunate to have great mentors, including Dr. Duncan; Joan W. Miller, MD; Dean Eliott, MD; Carl D. Regillo, MD; Allen C. Ho, MD; and Julia A. Haller, MD. They have been sounding boards for career decisions and have offered their advice on how to reach various career goals.
Dr. Talcott was surprised by the opportunity to continue to gain new mentors after fellowship. She has appreciated the mentorship offered by Justis P. Ehlers, MD; Rishi P. Singh, MD; and Sunil K. Srivastava, MD. Additionally, she has appreciated getting to know the strong community of women in retina over the years.
AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER
Working with trainees turned out to be the most memorable experience for Dr. Talcott so far. Whether it’s watching a surgical fellow master a technique or push through a difficult case for the first time, meeting a resident who has decided to go into retina, or working on research with medical students, it’s a privilege to be able to watch them grow and develop their interests.
