Physician · WRITER · RESEARCHER
Exploring what it means to see — and to care.
I’m Henry Bair, an ophthalmology resident at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, with a particular interest in cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery. My research examines how we measure outcomes, evaluate treatments, and make clinical decisions. I also write about medical ethics, artificial intelligence, and the experience of illness. I created and co-host The Doctor’s Art, a podcast exploring meaning in medicine.
What I Do
Cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery
CLINICAL RESEARCH
Research on corneal tissue use, refractive outcomes, and the evidence behind clinical decisions.
Writing
NARRATIVE & HUMANISTIC MEDICINE
Essays on illness, uncertainty, and the relationships that shape medical care.
Artificial intelligence, evidence, and health policy
RESEARCH & COMMENTARY
Research and commentary on how artificial intelligence and other clinical tools are evaluated and what their use asks of patients and clinicians.
The Doctor’s Art
PODCAST
Stories from physicians, patients, and leaders on finding meaning in medicine.
SELECTED WORK
Taiwan → Texas → California → Pennsylvania
Background
I was born and raised in Taiwan. My father, a physician of Austronesian descent, cares for patients in rural communities with limited resources. Watching the relationships he built with patients helped shape my understanding of care.
At Rice University, I studied biochemistry and cell biology alongside medieval and early modern studies, moving between laboratory research and Anglo-Saxon and Irish literature. The humanities deepened an interest in how people understand pain, mortality, and hope. I later earned my MD and MBA at Stanford, where I discovered ophthalmology.
Work on pandemic policy at Stanford’s Center for Policy, Outcomes, and Prevention also shaped an interest in how health systems affect access to care and physicians’ responsibilities.
Outside medicine, I enjoy playing the cello, aviation, languages, and literature, including Irish mythology.
