Jules Stein, MD: Ophthalmologist, Entertainment Magnate, and Advocate for Vision

Abstract

Purpose: To report the lifetime activities and accomplishments of Jules Stein, MD.

Design: Retrospective review.

Methods: Assessment of published and unpublished biographical material.

Results: Jules Stein combined his love of music and medicine with organizational skills to achieve successive careers as a musician, an ophthalmologist, an entertainment magnate, and an advocate for vision. To preserve vision, he founded Research to Prevent Blindness, founded the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, and led a multiyear campaign to establish the National Eye Institute.

Conclusions: With successive careers and extraordinary achievements, Jules Stein created an enduring legacy of benefits to ophthalmology, vision research, and the prevention of blindness.