MS, OD, DO, PhD, FAASS

Dr. Greiner, holder of three doctoral degrees, is an ophthalmologist, physician and surgeon, optometrist, teacher and medical research scientist, who has authored over 150 publications in the scientific and medical literature, and holds six U.S. patents and corresponding foreign patents in the areas of treatment of dry eyes and the integument (skin). With extensive training as both a basic and clinical scientist, many of these publications integrate both basic sciences and clinical medicine. In his 30 years of biomedical research, Dr. Greiner has presented more than 175 scientific papers at over 110 domestic and foreign meetings. Dr. Greiner is devoted to both scientific and clinical medical research as well as to clinical medicine in the fields of ophthalmology and surgery.

Education: After earning a Ph.D. in anatomy, Dr. Greiner completed postdoctoral research fellowship training at the Howe Laboratory of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. He completed an additional research fellowship on an NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) at Schepens Eye Research Institute while simultaneously completing a Doctorate in Optometry (O.D.) at the New England College of Optometry in Boston. After earning his medical degree at Midwestern University, Dr. Greiner completed his internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Following residency in ophthalmology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he served as a Clinical Fellow in cornea and external diseases of the eye at the Cornea Service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School and was board certified in ophthalmology by the American Board of Physician Specialists.

Faculty Appointments: In 1978 Dr. Greiner joined the faculty at Schepens Eye Research Institute as Adjunct Assistant Scientist. Dr. Greiner served as Assistant Professor (1979-1983) and later as Associate Professor (1983-1987) in the Department of Pathology at Midwestern University and as Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology (1981-1983) at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. In 1988 he was appointed to the faculty of Harvard Medical School as Instructor of Ophthalmology and the faculty of Schepens Eye Research Institute as Adjunct Assistant Scientist. He is currently a Clinical Instructor in Ophthalmology (1991-present) at Harvard Medical School, Clinical Associate Scientist (1991-present) at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology (2000-present) at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Surgery (2010-present) at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Staff Appointments; Dr. Greiner conducts laboratory research at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the medical staff of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, an affiliate of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Winchester Hospital, Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, Melrose Wakefield Hospital, Laser Eye Center of Boston in Waltham, and the Laser Center at Eye Health Vision Center of Dartmouth.

Honors & Awards: Dr. Greiner is a Fellow of the American Academy of Specialists in Surgery, an Osteopathic Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, has received the Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, has been honored as Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Specialists in Surgery, is cited in Marquis “Who’s Who in Medicine”, and has been honored as a Distinguished Practitioner and member of the National Academies of Practice. He is a past President of the American Academy of Specialists in Surgery, has
served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Physician Specialists, serves on the American Board of Physician Specialists and is a member of ten medical and scientific societies. Dr. Greiner has served as an editorial board member and a scientific reviewer for numerous research and clinical journals. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Prevent Blindness Massachusetts, an affiliate of the National Society to Prevent Blindness. Dr. Greiner is a founding member and a member of the Board of Directors of Ocular Research of Boston (ORB, Inc). He is also a founding member of both the Laser Eye Center of Boston (LECB, Inc) for keratorefractive surgery, Charles River Eye Associates (CREA) of Boston and Winchester and the Boston Ocular Surface Center of Boston and Winchester. Dr. Greiner is the Director of both the Charles River Eye Associates and the Boston Ocular Surface Center.

Research: Dr. Greiner has had over 30 years of continuous grant support for his basic science and clinical research studies. He has been an awardee on grants from both Fight For Sight and the National Society to Prevent Blindness. He has served as principal investigator as well as co-investigator on awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and served as an investigator, principal investigator or sub-investigator in over 110 FDA-approved clinical trials. He has been an invited speaker and presenter at numerous regional, national and international meetings, delivering over 200 presentations. With collaborators, Dr. Greiner reported the original clinical and histopathologic characterization and naming of the disease Giant-Papillary-Conjunctivitis, and the original clinical characterization and naming of the ophthalmic condition Lid-Wiper-Epitheliopathy. Dr. Greiner and collaborators also reported the histopathologic and histochemical characterization of the “second” mucus secretory system of the conjunctiva, developed a model of ocular inflammation induced by eye rubbing, developed a method of treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction, and pioneered the applications of 31P NMR spectroscopy in ophthalmology. These discoveries are all documented by his publications in referred medical and scientific journals.

Clinical & Research Goals: Dr. Greiner’s clinical and research goals are the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the care of patients with diseases of the ocular surface. Recently, Dr. Greiner and his collaborators documented that eye rubbing is the principle etiology of the often-blinding disease keratoconus, have also discovered and patented the technology for an oil-in-water emulsion eye drop (Systane Balance®, Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas) to alleviate the signs and symptoms of dry eye syndromes.

Dr. Greiner’s lectures and teaching responsibilities, clinical and basic science research, and clinical and surgical practice underscore his commitment to academic and clinical medicine.