John A. Moran Eye Center physician and renowned neuro-ophthalmologist Kathleen B. Digre, MD has been appointed to the rank of distinguished professor.
The University of Utah honor is reserved for individuals whose achievements exemplify the highest goals of scholarship, demonstrated by recognition accorded to them from peers with national and international stature and whose record includes evidence of a high dedication to teaching as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them by students and/or colleagues. Digre will receive the rank at commencement proceedings held in May, 2018.
Digre was also awarded Honorary Doctor of the University of Zurich in April, 2018, for her outstanding contributions to the understanding of ophthalmology, neurology, gynecology, and anesthesiology, as well as her work promoting gender equality in academia.
Digre is a professor of neurology and ophthalmology as well as an adjunct professor of obstetrics and gynecology and an adjunct professor of anesthesia. She founded Moran’s neuro-ophthalmology service and directs the Division of Neuro-ophthalmology and Headache at the University of Utah.
Digre started the University of Utah Headache Clinic, which created a care pathway to improve headache treatment and streamline access for patients. She also founded and directs the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, a multidisciplinary group focused on enhancing overall health and wellness for women.
Her research focuses on clinical disorders in neuro-ophthalmology and headache. Digre studies idiopathic intracranial hypertension, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, migraine, and blepharospasm. She participates in national trials to reduce the burden of disease in these areas, and works to understand the basis of photophobia—a common complaint in migraine, blepharospasm, and other disorders.
Digre is president-elect of the American Headache Society. Watch Digre discuss migraine and ophthalmology at the American Academy of Ophthalmology here.