Dr. Robert A. Avery is a member of the Division of Ophthalmology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  Dr. Robert Avery is also an associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.   He holds the Richard Shafritz Endowed Chair in Pediatric Ophthalmology Research.

Dr. Avery completed his pediatrics residency training at the A.I. duPont Hospital for Children.  He then completed both his pediatric neurology residency and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania.   Dr. Avery also received his Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Avery started his career as an attending pediatric neuro-ophthalmologist at Children’s National Medical Center and assistant professor of Neurology at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.  In 2015, Dr. Avery returned to Philadelphia and joined the Division of Ophthalmology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Avery’s unique clinical and research expertise enables him to perform cutting-edge research involving multiple disciplines, including neuro-oncology, radiology, ophthalmic imaging, neurosurgery, neurology and ophthalmology.  His primary research interest investigates advanced ocular and brain imaging methods for monitoring and treating children with brain tumors affecting their vision.  His lab has been continuously funded through by the NIH over the past 14 years.  He is passionate about the ophthalmic care of children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). He is the lead ophthalmologist for a phase-2 and three different phase-3 clinical trials testing treatments for children with brain tumors causing blindness.  He is also part of the Gilbert Family Foundation’s “Visual Restoration Initiative”, a multi-disciplinary team engaged to develop first-in-kind therapies to restore sight in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1.