Brief Biography

Dr. Nesburn has a special interest in corneal diseases and refractive surgery. He was the Principal Investigator for the VISX Excimer Laser Phototherapeutic Keratectomy (PTK) and Phase 1 Hyperopia (PRKh) trials as well as Co-investigator for the FDA sponsored PRK Clinical Trials for VISX and Automomous Tracker^TM Laser Trials. These pioneering studies, begun in 1990, have given Dr. Nesburn and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's corneal laser team one of the longest track records of experience in this new technology.

Dr. Tony, as his patients call him, is a caring physician who always puts his patients first. In addition, he is highly respected as a clinician and surgeon by his medical peers who have repeatedly elected him to the highly coveted ranks of the "Outstanding Medical Specialists in the U.S." and   "The Best Doctors in America".

Educational Background - Dr. Nesburn is an internationally known ophthalmologist, surgeon, researcher and teacher. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he graduated UCLA magna cum laude and went on to Boston for his medical training. After graduating Harvard Medical School cum laude he took a virology fellowship with Nobel Laureate, Dr. John Enders and then trained in ophthalmology at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Commissioned as a Lieutenant, Dr. Nesburn served as U.S. Navy flight surgeon aboard the U.S.S. Hornet. In 1968 he returned to Los Angeles and joined his father's successful ophthalmology practice, which Dr. Henry Nesburn had begun in 1935. That practice is now the American Eye Institute .

In 1969, Dr. Nesburn received his American Board of Ophthalmology Certification and since 1975 has had the honor of examining Candidates for Certification by the Board.  He is Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute where he teaches.  He has been President of the Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology and has served on the boards of many national ophthalmological organizations. Dr. Nesburn was selected for the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Honor and Senior Honor Awards for service and teaching. Recently, he was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Institutes of Health's prestigious 12 person National Eye Advisory Council.

With his strong interest in research, Dr. Nesburn elected to divide his time between research and private practice, an uncommon career path. In 1969, he established a very successful research program at USC's Doheny Eye Foundation. In 1985, he was selected to become the first Director of Ophthalmology Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He created (and still supervises) a very successful 25 person basic and clinical research team with a yearly grant budget exceeding $1 million. Throughout the last two decades he has won continuous NIH funding for his research, published over 100 papers, and given countless lectures and courses nationally and internationally. He is Medical Director of the Discovery Fund for Eye Research and the National Keratoconus Foundation.