Dr. Richard Lee ’90, a global physician and educator, is guiding the next generation of doctors.
Dr. Lee, pictured with his cohort of students, says teaching is more than a profession — it’s a calling that began at Pomona.
The Vision Van en route to Japan aboard a Ukrainian Antonov-124, with support from the Japanese and Russian governments, following the 2011 Great Sendai Tsunami.
Dr. Lee says restoring sight doesn’t just treat a condition — it transforms lives.
When Dr. Richard Lee reflects on the arc of his career, he traces it back to Pomona College — where his professors didn’t just teach, they challenged and inspired. Now, as a world-traveling physician, educator and humanitarian, Dr. Lee is guiding the next generation of doctors in the same way.
“My professors weren’t chasing publications, they were invested in being real mentors,” Dr. Lee says. “That has shaped how I teach today.”
Drawn to Pomona for its promise of small class sizes and close student-faculty relationships, Dr. Lee flourished in the liberal arts environment. Though he explored multiple disciplines, it was the College’s small lab settings and hands-on research opportunities that helped him discover his passion for the sciences.
A turning point came during a late-night study session in Seaver Hall, when he (and his roommate James Lister ’90) spotted a bright pink flyer advertising a fully funded graduate school recruitment trip to the University of Miami in Florida.
“As a college student with no money, that trip changed my life,” Dr. Lee says.
The opportunity set off a cross-country tour of graduate and doctoral programs, where Dr. Lee experienced firsthand the strength of Pomona’s alumni network, meeting Sagehens on campuses from Yale to Tulane. That spirit of mentorship, embedded in his undergraduate experience, led him back to the University of Miami, where their newly launched Physician Scientist Program for MD/PhD graduate students mirrored Pomona’s collaborative, discussion-based learning environment he so deeply valued.
“The research I did while at Pomona prepared me incredibly well for all that was ahead of me,” Dr. Lee says.
At the University of Miami, home to the nation’s top ophthalmology program (the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute), Dr. Lee says he learned that restoring sight doesn’t just treat a condition, it fundamentally improves lives. He completed both his ophthalmology residency and fellowship at Miami, and for the past 20 years, Dr. Lee has been on the faculty mentoring the next generation of eye surgeons at the university.
However, his work reaches far beyond the classroom. Motivated by his own childhood, when his family had limited access to healthcare, he now leads efforts to bring vision care to low-income and disaster-stricken communities in the U.S. and internationally.
With the help of the University of Miami’s “Vision Van,” a mobile medical unit that travels to underserved communities in South Florida, Dr. Lee and his medical students and ophthalmology residents provide hands-on care while gaining real-world experience serving those in need.
This work first began in local, underserved neighborhoods in Miami. Later, in 2005, they were deployed to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, their work has scaled globally, including airlifting the Vision Van to Japan with help from the Japanese and Russian governments after the 2011 Great Sendai Tsunami. Now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) works with Dr. Lee and his team of medical students as first responders in disaster zones.
This summer, Dr. Lee will return to the Galápagos Islands for his annual mission trip, as part of the Darwin Eye Project — a program he founded to deliver essential — and the only — eye care to an isolated island community, while cultivating a spirit of service in young doctors.
For him, teaching is more than a profession. It’s a calling that began at Pomona. And for him, giving back to the College through the Pomona Annual Fund, which supports student research, is his way of continuing the legacy.
“Pomona gives us the tools and support,” he says, “and with that, the ability to make an impact in the world.”
Gifts to the Pomona Annual Fund support exceptional students who become valuable members of our alumni community, like Dr. Richard Lee ’90. Visit our website or call 909-607-6096 to make a gift today.