After nearly 40 years, a career in ophthalmology that has taken Thomas Bosley around the world is coming to a close.
Bosley, known to many colleagues and patients as Mac, will retire at the end of the month. He has been the Knights Templar Eye Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, since March 2016.
While his time at the Wilmer Eye Institute marks the tail end of his career, Bosley has made a lasting impact in the Wilmer community as a clinician and researcher. “He’s one of the nicest and smartest people I’ve ever met,” says Neil Miller, an ophthalmologist at Wilmer who retired earlier this year and has known Bosley for nearly four decades. “He’s just a wonderful clinician and a wonderful human being.”
Bosley earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate in medicine from Stanford University. He then completed a neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania and became certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1983. He also did fellowships in neuro-ophthalmology at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and in neurochemistry at the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology.
After completing his training, Bosley joined the neuro-ophthalmology unit at Wills Eye Hospital and practiced there and at other teaching hospitals in the Philadelphia area for 15 years.
Later in his career, he had two stints in Saudi Arabia. From 1997–2005, he held leadership, teaching and consulting positions at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre. From 2008–2016, he was a professor of ophthalmology at King Saud University’s college of medicine and chief of its neuro-ophthalmology division.
One of very few neuro-ophthalmologists in the Middle East, it was there where he became interested in genetics and how they relate to vision. Milestones from his time abroad include identifying the genetic syndrome now known as the Bosley-Salih-Alorainy syndrome, which is characterized by multiple physical and neurological abnormalities — including some that involve the eyes — as well as developmental delays.
In total, Bosley has more than 200 research publications to his credit. His research interests have included optic neuropathy, neurologic causes of vision loss, diplopia, eye movement abnormalities and genetic abnormalities that cause neuro-ophthalmologic problems.
“I think we all really aspire to do groundbreaking research like he’s done,” says Amanda Henderson, chief of Wilmer’s neuro-ophthalmology division. “On a personal level, we all aspire to his level of patience, understanding and caring when working with patients.”
Miller visited Bosley in Saudi Arabia multiple times and noticed how he embraced the international population and wanted to embed himself “Here’s a guy who’s basically done it all in the United States and abroad, who can connect with people in the best way,” Miller says. “I just am so thankful that I’ve had several years working with him.”
Colleagues at the Wilmer Eye Institute describe Bosley as a family man who is friendly, inquisitive and collegial, as well as a good storyteller. “He’s always easy to talk to and run cases by,” says Andrew Carey, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Wilmer. “He’s easy to talk to if you have questions or need help or want to brainstorm with someone.”
Timothy McCulley, vice chair for clinical strategic planning at the Wilmer Eye Institute and an associate professor of ophthalmology, says Bosley is a world leader in ocular motility and is compassionate with patients. The two worked together in Saudi Arabia and again at Wilmer.
Shelley Casey shared similar sentiments. Casey, who worked with Bosley as Wilmer’s neuro-ophthalmology clinic manager from 2017–2020, says he often went out of his way to get to know his patients and the staff members. “All his patients love him,” she says. “I think the big thing was they felt he really took his time and answered all their questions.”
Miller, who was among the people who convinced Bosley to go to the Wilmer Eye Institute in 2016 after his second stint in Saudi Arabia, knew his longtime peer would be a good fit for the institute. “He has it all, and I think Wilmer and Hopkins should be proud to have had him for a while,” Miller says. “We’ll miss him.”