Leah A. Owen,
MD, PhD
Languages Spoken: English
Leah Owen, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Utah. Dr. Owen has a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Westminster College and completed an MD/PhD program and ophthalmology residency at the University of Utah, as well as a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Owen is board certified and specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of pediatric eye disease, including cataract, tear duct obstruction, amblyopia, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and strabismus. She also specializes in the surgical treatment of adult strabismus. She is an active member of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, all of which work continually to improve the ability to treat eye diseases.
As principal investigator of a National Eye Institute-funded lab, Dr. Owen also works to advance the understanding of the root causes of blinding eye diseases on a genetic and molecular level. The goal of Dr. Owen’s work is to advance the treatment of pediatric eye conditions and enable disease prevention for conditions, including ROP, strabismus, amblyopia, and heritable retinal disease. She and her team work with multi-disciplinary colleagues nationally and internationally to achieve these goals. Their work has led to important discoveries that are changing the way we care for patients and reducing a child’s risk of blindness. As an example, Dr. Owen’s work to understand why some preterm infants are at greater risk for developing blindness from ROP has led to a partnership with Genentech to translate these findings to new prevention therapies, which may not simply minimize blindness but prevent it altogether.
Her practice combines these clinical and research aims to provide excellent and cutting-edge care to her patients.
Clinical Locations
Primary Children's Hospital
801-581-2352
Primary Children's Hospital Outpatient Services at Riverton
801-581-2352
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Ophthalmology/Visual Sciences
-
Assistant Professor Obstetrics/Gynecology - Adjunct Assistant Professor Population Health Sciences - Adjunct Assistant Professor |
| Board Certification | American Board of Ophthalmology |
Patient Rating
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey.
Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.
Likelihood of recommending care provider
4.8/ 5
Care provider's explanation of condition/problem
4.8/ 5
Care provider's effort to include me in decisions
4.8/ 5
Wait time at clinic
4.4/ 5
Care provider's concern for questions & worries
4.8/ 5
Patient Comments
Patient comments are gathered from our Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survery and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
UofU Patient
December 02, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
Will be back if we have other eye issues arise in the future
UofU Patient
November 23, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
I was very impressed by Dr. Owen. She played with my child and was able to easy attain the necessary exam info from him. She explained his diagnosis well and together we explored treatment options. It sounds like he may need surgery and I fully trust Dr. Owen to operate on him.
UofU Patient
November 18, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
She was thorough, but spoke in terms that was a little too medical, it was a little hard to follow.
UofU Patient
October 14, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
She didn't educate us on any testing or how glasses would help
UofU Patient
September 17, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr Owen is great!
UofU Patient
August 13, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
I left with a lot of questions on what to do next, this being a new experience.
UofU Patient
July 28, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
We loved our doctor!
UofU Patient
July 08, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
The team got us in very quickly and quickly had my son admitted to the ER for the CT scan. Everything was perfect and we greatly appreciate everyone's efforts on his behalf.
UofU Patient
June 01, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
Great
UofU Patient
April 17, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
When discussing surgery options would be nice to have both parents in there to here all the conversation to be able to make the best choice.
UofU Patient
March 18, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
dr Owen always gives you the time when you get her, but it's always a very long wait to get that time
UofU Patient
March 18, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
her care and concern is always good but the wait time to see her is always crazy
UofU Patient
March 11, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
Fantastic experience
UofU Patient
March 09, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr Owens was great and took care of us well during the visit.
UofU Patient
March 02, 2021
RIVERTON CLINICS
I just felt a bit rushed during this visit especially being a post op appointment I expected a longer visit addressing concerns etc
UofU Patient
November 15, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr Owens is wonderful and helpful.
UofU Patient
October 29, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
good good
UofU Patient
October 27, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr Owen was awesome, patient and informative.
UofU Patient
October 16, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Everyone was so great and stayed upbeat. This was very meaningful to me since knowing your small child has serious vision issues is terrifying.
UofU Patient
September 28, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr. Owen was great to work with and very knowledgeable.
UofU Patient
September 15, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr. Owen's was awesome and very thorough. She explained all the questions we had.
UofU Patient
September 03, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr. Owen is very thorough and very kind.
UofU Patient
August 02, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
I asked her if she could measure the PD and she said no but the optic shop would. I find this frustrating. We've had previous eye doctors do this for us. the optic shop was closed for lunch so we weren't able to get a measurement. We live a half hour away so it is not convenient to go back to get the PD measured. This could have been prevented if Dr. Owen would have measured it.
UofU Patient
July 24, 2020
RIVERTON CLINICS
Dr. Owen is very good at explaining the procedures in a way that is easily understood.
Leah Owen, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Utah. Dr. Owen has a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Westminster College and completed an MD/PhD program and ophthalmology residency at the University of Utah, as well as a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Owen is board certified and specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of pediatric eye disease, including cataract, tear duct obstruction, amblyopia, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and strabismus. She also specializes in the surgical treatment of adult strabismus. She is an active member of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, all of which work continually to improve the ability to treat eye diseases.
As principal investigator of a National Eye Institute-funded lab, Dr. Owen also works to advance the understanding of the root causes of blinding eye diseases on a genetic and molecular level. The goal of Dr. Owen’s work is to advance the treatment of pediatric eye conditions and enable disease prevention for conditions, including ROP, strabismus, amblyopia, and heritable retinal disease. She and her team work with multi-disciplinary colleagues nationally and internationally to achieve these goals. Their work has led to important discoveries that are changing the way we care for patients and reducing a child’s risk of blindness. As an example, Dr. Owen’s work to understand why some preterm infants are at greater risk for developing blindness from ROP has led to a partnership with Genentech to translate these findings to new prevention therapies, which may not simply minimize blindness but prevent it altogether.
Her practice combines these clinical and research aims to provide excellent and cutting-edge care to her patients.
Academic Locations
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Ophthalmology/Visual Sciences
-
Assistant Professor Obstetrics/Gynecology - Adjunct Assistant Professor Population Health Sciences - Adjunct Assistant Professor |
| Board Certification | American Board of Ophthalmology |
Education History
| Fellowship | Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellow, 2015 |
| Residency | John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah Health Care Ophthalmology Resident, 2014 |
| Professional Medical | University of Utah Medicine M.D., 2010 |
| Doctoral Training | University of Utah Molecular Biology and Oncological Science Ph.D., 2008 |
| Undergraduate | Westminster College Biology and Chemistry B.S., 2002 |
Selected Publications - Journal Articles
Journal Article
- Hicks PM, Siedlecki A, Haaland B, Owen LA, Au E, Feehan M, et al (2021). A Global Genetic Epidemiological Review of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome. Explor Med, 2021 (2), 527-43.
- Chen JS, Coyner AS, Paul Chan RV, Hartnett ME, Moshfeghi DM, Owen LA, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Chiang MF, Campbell JP (2021). Ophthalmology: Applications and Realism of Synthetic Retinal Images from Generative Adversarial Networks. Ophthalmol Sci, 1(4).
- Feehan M, Owen LA, McKinnon IM, DeAngelis MM (2021). Artificial Intelligence, Heuristic Biases, and the Optimization of Health Outcomes: Cautionary Optimism. J Clin Med, 10(22).
- Samra YA, Kira D, Rajpurohit P, Mohamed R, Owen LA, Shakoor A, Kim IK, DeAngelis MM, Sheibani N, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik A (2021). Implication of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor in Homocysteine-Induced Age-Related Macular Degeneration. 2021 Aug 28;22(17). doi: 10.3390/ijms22179356. PubMed PMID: 34502266; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8431693. Int J Mol Sci.
- Hicks PM, Au E, Self W, Haaland B, Feehan M, Owen LA, Siedlecki A, Nuttall E, Harrison D, Reynolds AL, Lillvis JH, Sieminski S, Shulman JP, Barnoya M, Noguera Prera JJ, Gonzalez O, Murtaugh MA, Williams LB, Farkas MH, Crandall AS, DeAngelis MM (2021). Pseudoexfoliation and Cataract Syndrome Associated with Genetic and Epidemiological Factors in a Mayan Cohort of Guatemala. Int J Environ Res Public Health.
- Hicks PM, Au E, Self W, Haaland B, Feehan M, Owen LA, Siedlecki A, Nuttall E, Harrison D, Reynolds AL, Lillvis JH, Sieminski S, Shulman JP, Barnoya M, Noguera Prera JJ, Gonzalez O, Murtaugh MA, Williams LB, Farkas MH, Crandall AS, DeAngelis MM (2021). Pseudoexfoliation and Cataract Syndrome Associated with Genetic and Epidemiological Factors in a Mayan Cohort of Guatemala. 2021 Jul 6;18(14). doi: 10.3390/ijerph18147231. PubMed PMID: 34299682; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8303577. Int J Environ Res Public Health.
- Owen LA, Shirer K, Collazo SA, Szczotka K, Baker S, Wood B, Carroll L, Haaland B, Iwata T, Katikaneni LD, DeAngelis MM (2020). The Serine Protease HTRA-1 Is a Biomarker for ROP and Mediates Retinal Neovascularization. Front Mol Neurosci.
- Hicks PM, Haaland B, Feehan M, Crandall AS, Pettey JH, Nuttall E, Self W, Hartnett ME, Bernstein P, Vitale A, Shakoor A, Shulman JP, Sieminski SF, Kim I, Owen LA, Murtaugh MA, Noyes A, DeAngelis MM (2020). Systemic Disease and Ocular Comorbidity Analysis of Geographically Isolated Federally Recognized American Indian Tribes of the Intermountain West. J Clin Med, 9(11).
- Ibrahim AS, Hussein K, Wang F, Wan M, Saad N, Essa M, Kim I, Shakoor A, Owen LA, DeAngelis MM, Al-Shabrawey M (2020). Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)4 But Not BMP2 Disrupts the Barrier Integrity of Retinal Pigment Epithelia and Induces Their Migration: A Potential Role in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. J Clin Med, 9(7).
- Carroll L, Owen LA (2020). Current evidence and outcomes for retinopathy of prematurity prevention: insight into novel maternal and placental contribution. Explor Med. 2020;1:4-26. doi: 10.37349/emed.2020.00002. Epub 2020 Feb 29. PubMed PMID: 32342063; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7185238.
- Williams LB, Javed A, Sabri A, Morgan DJ, Huff CD, Grigg JR, Heng XT, Khng AJ, Hollink IHIM, Morrison MA, Owen LA, Anderson K, Kinard K, Greenlees R, Novacic D, Nida Sen H, Zein WM, Rodgers GM, Vitale AT, Haider NB, Hillmer AM, Ng PC, Shankaracharya, Cheng A, Zheng L, Gillies MC, van Slegtenhorst M, van Hagen PM, Missotten TOAR, Farley GL, Polo M, Malatack J, Curtin J, Martin F, Arbuckle S, Alexander SI, Chircop M, Davila S, Digre KB, Jamieson RV, DeAngelis MM (2019). ALPK1 missense pathogenic variant in five families leads to ROSAH syndrome, an ocular multisystem autosomal dominant disorder. Genet Med, 21(9), 2103-2115.
- Kim S, Lowe A, Dharmat R, Lee S, Owen LA, Wang J, Shakoor A, Li Y, Morgan DJ, Hejazi AA, Cvekl A, DeAngelis MM, Zhou ZJ, Chen R, Liu W (2019). Generation, transcriptome profiling, and functional validation of cone-rich human retinal organoids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 116(22), 10824-10833.
- Hwang ES, Morgan DJ, Pennington KL, Owen LA, Fingert JH, Bernstein PS, DeAngelis MM (2019). Progressive optic nerve changes in cavitary optic disc anomaly: integration of copy number alteration and cis-expression quantitative trait loci to assess disease etiology. BMC Med Genet, 20(1), 63.
- Owen LA, Shakoor A, Morgan DJ, Hejazi AA, McEntire MW, Brown JJ, Farrer LA, Kim I, Vitale A, DeAngelis MM (2019). The Utah Protocol for Postmortem Eye Phenotyping and Molecular Biochemical Analysis. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 60(4), 1204-1212.
- Hicks PM, Melendez SAC, Vitale A, Self W, Hartnett ME, Bernstein P, Morgan DJ, Feehan M, Shakoor A, Kim I, Owen LA, DeAngelis MM (2019). Genetic Epidemiologic Analysis of Hypertensive Retinopathy in an Underrepresented and Rare Federally Recognized Native American Population of the Intermountain West. J Community Med Public Health, 3(1).
- Byrd JM, Young MP, Liu W, Zhang Y, Tate DB, Crandall AS, Owen LA (2018). Long-term outcomes for pediatric patients having transscleral fixation of the capsular bag with intraocular lens for ectopia lentis. J Cataract Refract Surg, 44(5), 603-609.
- DeAngelis MM, Owen LA, Morrison MA, Morgan DJ, Li M, Shakoor A, Vitale A, Iyengar S, Stambolian D, Kim IK, Farrer LA (2017). Genetics of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Hum Mol Genet, 26(R2), R246.
- Owen LA, Morrison MA, Hoffman RO, Yoder BA, DeAngelis MM (2017). Retinopathy of prematurity: A comprehensive risk analysis for prevention and prediction of disease. PLoS One, 12(2), e0171467.
- Owen LA, Morrison MA, Ahn J, Woo SJ, Sato H, Robinson R, Morgan DJ, Zacharaki F, Simeonova M, Uehara H, Chakravarthy U, Hogg RE, Ambati BK, Kotoula M, Baehr W, Haider NB, Silvestri G, Miller JW, Tsironi EE, Farrer LA, Kim IK, Park KH, DeAngelis MM (2014). FLT1 genetic variation predisposes to neovascular AMD in ethnically diverse populations and alters systemic FLT1 expression. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 55(6), 3543-54.
- Owen LA, Hartnett ME (2014). Current concepts of oxygen management in retinopathy of prematurity. J Ophthalmic Vis Res, 9(1), 94-100.
- Owen LA, Hartnett ME (2013). Soluble mediators of diabetic macular edema: the diagnostic role of aqueous VEGF and cytokine levels in diabetic macular edema. Curr Diab Rep, 13(4), 476-80.
- Luo L, Uehara H, Zhang X, Das SK, Olsen T, Holt D, Simonis JM, Jackman K, Singh N, Miya TR, Huang W, Ahmed F, Bastos-Carvalho A, Le YZ, Mamalis C, Chiodo VA, Hauswirth WW, Baffi J, Lacal PM, Orecchia A, Ferrara N, Gao G, Young-Hee K, Fu Y, Owen L, Albuquerque R, Baehr W, Thomas K, Li DY, Chalam KV, Shibuya M, Grisanti S, Wilson DJ, Ambati J, Ambati BK (2013). Photoreceptor avascular privilege is shielded by soluble VEGF receptor-1. Elife, 2, e00324.
- Owen LA, Uehara H, Cahoon J, Huang W, Simonis J, Ambati BK (2012). Morpholino-mediated increase in soluble Flt-1 expression results in decreased ocular and tumor neovascularization. PLoS One, 7(3), e33576.
- Owen LA, Kowalewski AA, Lessnick SL (2008). EWS/FLI mediates transcriptional repression via NKX2.2 during oncogenic transformation in Ewing's sarcoma. PLoS One, 3(4), e1965.
- Owen LA, Lessnick SL (2006). Identification of target genes in their native cellular context: an analysis of EWS/FLI in Ewing's sarcoma. Cell Cycle, 5(18), 2049-53.
- Smith R, Owen LA, Trem DJ, Wong JS, Whangbo JS, Golub TR, Lessnick SL (2006). Expression profiling of EWS/FLI identifies NKX2.2 as a critical target gene in Ewing's sarcoma. Cancer Cell, 9(5), 405-16.
- Gahring LC, Days EL, Kaasch T, Gonzalez de Mendoza M, Owen L, Persiyanov K, Rogers SW (2005). Pro-inflammatory cytokines modify neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor assembly. J Neuroimmunol, 166(1-2), 88-101.
Book Chapter
- Zavala, R, Hicks, P, Lillvis, J, Zang, C, Farkas, M, Owen, LDeAngelis, M (2021). Genetics of Age-related Macular Degeneration (Peer-Reviewed). In Albert and Jakobiec’s Principles and Practices of Ophthalmology, update.
- Patrice M Hicks, Leah A Owen, Margaret M DeAngelis (2021). Global Women's Eye Health: A Genetic Epidemiologic Perspective (Peer-Reviewed). In Springer Nature, Advances in Vision Research, Volume III, Genetic Eye Research around the Globe.
Case Report
- Harrie, RP, Levine, AM, Owen, LA (2020). Recurrent Subconjunctival Hemorrhage in a Child With an Orbital Mass. JAMA Ophthalmol.
- MacLean KD, Cole SC, Ford JR, Owen L, Mamalis N, Patel BC (2016). Thymic Origin Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Metastasizing to the Orbit in an Otherwise Asymptomatic Patient. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg, 32(1), e21-3.
- Ford JR, Werner L, Owen L, Vasavada SA, Crandall A (2014). Spontaneous bilateral anterior partial in-the-bag intraocular lens dislocation following routine annual eye examination. J Cataract Refract Surg, 40(9), 1561-4.
Editorial
Abstract
- Owen LA, Holt DG, Uehara H, Ambati BK (2013). SAMHD1 is a Novel Regulator of Soluble Flt-1 [Abstract]. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Seattle, WA, Abstract # 1613234.
- Smith R, Hancock JD, Kinsey M, Owen LA, Lessnick SL (2007). Functional analysis of EWS/FLI target genes via an RNAi mini-library [Abstract]. American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Abstract #07-AB-5870-AACR.
- Owen LA, Smith R, Trem DJ, Wong JS, Whangbo JS, Golub TR, Lessnick SL (2006). Microarray analysis of EWS/FLI in Ewing’s sarcoma reveals a critical role for NKX2.2 in oncogenesis [Abstract]. Connective Tissue Oncology Society Annual Meeting, Venice, Italy, Abstract 524.
Other
Video/Film/CD/Web/Podcast
- Owen, LA (2016). New ROP Risk Model. American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/pediatric-center-detail/new-rop-risk-model-3. [Video].
Global Impact
Selected Provider Publications
Journal Article
Hicks PM, Melendez SAC, Vitale A, Self W, Hartnett ME, Bernstein P, Morgan DJ, Feehan M, Shakoor A, Kim I, Owen LA, DeAngelis MM (2019). Genetic Epidemiologic Analysis of Hypertensive Retinopathy in an Underrepresented and Rare Federally Recognized Native American Population of the Intermountain West. J Community Med Public Health, 3(1).
Global Impact: Native American Nations.
Other
Owen LA (2008). Geomorphology: How Tibet might keep its edge. Nature (455(7214), pp. 748-9). England.
Global Impact: Tibet.