MEDICINE
For Dr. Rishi Singh, taking the helm at Cleveland Clinic
Martin Health is about continuously improving the
quality of health care in Martin County.
“I enjoy being a physician leader of this organization
who is able to understand how we can do better at the
bedside by working in the boardroom to impact and improve
the lives in our community in a meaningful way,” he says.
In Singh’s 18-year career at Cleveland Clinic, he has
worked as an ophthalmologist specializing in retinal surgery.
And he’s no stranger to assuming a leadership role. For the
last five years, he has served on Cleveland Clinic’s board of
governors — a physician board that guides the international
healthcare organization.
Singh is also passionate about conducting breakthrough
research that has advanced the treatment of retinal disease.
He has authored more than 200 peer reviewed publications,
books and book chapters and serves as principal investigator
of numerous trials.
Additionally, he is making a difference as a college professor,
where he teaches and trains the next generation of medical
students.
Born in upstate New York, Singh spent his adolescent life
in Nashua, New Hampshire, a quaint New England town
that he fondly remembers. That is where he was first drawn
to medicine during his high school years when he volunteered
at Nashua’s St. Joseph Hospital. He learned firsthand
at the hospital the importance of volunteering and the impact
it makes on patient care.
CARVING OUT A PATH
It was also during high school that Singh began his foray
into medicine as a researcher. He drove 50 minutes to Boston
to work in a lab where he performed benchtop research
studying flatworms from salt water by investigating their
visual pathways. These experiences during this time inspired
him and set him on a path to choose a career in medicine. After
graduating from high school, he was admitted to medical
school at Boston University.
“It was a Doogie Howser-type of program because you were
admitted to medical school from high school with shortening
of my college years,” he says.
During his freshman year in college, Singh met his future
wife, Simi, who was also enrolled in the medical program.
Today, she is an internal medicine physician who works for
Veterans Affairs Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
While in medical school, Singh took a year off so he could
pursue research at an ophthalmology lab. It was through his
work in research that he realized he wanted to specialize in
ophthalmology.
“Ophthalmology is a field that has a huge impact on the
welfare of the patient, but at the time, little innovation or insight
to how best address the leading causes of blindness,” he >>
24 Port St. Lucie Magazine
RISHI SINGH
Singh is a renowned ophthalmologist who has conducted extensive research that has led to life-changing therapies.