Dr. Mona Harissi-Dagher is Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), Full Professor of Ophthalmology at the Université de Montréal, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at McGill University.

She currently serves as President of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS), where she has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2012. Her contributions have included serving as Chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee, Board Liaison to Residents and Young Ophthalmologists, co-host of the EyeCan podcast for two seasons, developer of the EyeNovation webinar series, and current lead for the COS cornea learning modules on the Practice Resource Centre. 

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Harissi-Dagher teaches medical students, ophthalmology residents, and both clinical and research fellows in cornea. She also supervises and mentors MSc and PhD students in vision science research.

She completed her undergraduate studies at McGill University, earning the Hilda Diana Oakley Scholarship as the top-ranking female student. She obtained her medical degree and specialization in ophthalmology at the Université de Montréal, graduating on the Dean’s Honour List. She then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in cornea, external eye diseases, and refractive surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School.

A pioneer in keratoprosthesis surgery in Canada, Dr. Harissi-Dagher was named Personality of the Week by La Presse and Radio-Canada for her visionary work restoring sight through the Boston Keratoprosthesis.

Her research focuses on the Boston Keratoprosthesis, corneal transplantation, and refractive surgery. She has published over 140 scientific papers, authored numerous book chapters on corneal and external eye diseases, and serves as a reviewer for several leading ophthalmology journals. A sought-after international speaker, she has presented at many of the world’s most prestigious ophthalmology conferences and has received numerous awards recognizing her contributions to the field.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Harissi-Dagher has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a commercial organization:
1. Sun Pharma