When she is not advocating for her patients in Washington, D.C., you will find Lisa Nijm. M.D., J.D. serving as a board-certified corneal, cataract and LASIK surgeon at the practice she founded, Warrenville EyeCare & LASIK. After graduating from Benedictine University summa cum laude with a B.S. in Health Science, Nijm completed a post-graduate education that combined her interests in patient care and health care policy advocacy. She pursued a highly competitive six-year M.D., J.D. dual degree program at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and School of Law, which only admits two students per year.
After completing ophthalmology residency at UIC and a top-ranked corneal & LASIK fellowship at UC Davis, Nijm worked in underserved regions of central Illinois. She established a much-needed cornea clinic in Lincoln, Ill. and became the first surgeon in central Illinois to perform all-laser LASIK surgery.
Nijm was the first resident representative on Illinois Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the youngest member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) OphthPAC committee. She is the current (and youngest) president of Women in Ophthalmology (WIO), an international organization dedicated to the education and advancement of women ophthalmologists.
She is also a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at UIC Eye and Ear Infirmary and a director of the Osler Ophthalmology National Board Review course, having taught over 2500 ophthalmologists to date. She is a recognized expert and published author in advanced technology cataract surgery, dry eyes and LASIK and has been invited to speak at many national and international meetings. She serves on the editorial boards of three ophthalmology publications and is a highly requested ophthalmic consultant. Nijm has received numerous awards and honors for her work, most recently the AMA WPS Inspirational Physician Award, AAO Achievement Award and Northwestern Medicine-CDH 50th Anniversary Heroes in Medicine. Her goal is to serve her patients and those around her as a compassionate, Catholic physician, just as her devout parents inspired her to do so.
