Inaugural Fellow in Global Ophthalmology

“I didn’t start out wanting to become a doctor,” admits Timothy Soeken, M.D., Hailing from a small Texas town, Dr. Soeken was a first-generation college graduate, earning a degree in nuclear energy from Texas A&M. Next came the U.S. Air Force and flight training, after which he and his wife settled into military life and began raising a family.

His career path changed when the Soekens’ oldest child faced a health scare. Thankfully, their son recovered from his illness. Through that ordeal, Dr. Soeken experienced firsthand both the vulnerability felt by patients and parents, and the problem-solving skills and compassion exhibited by the very best physicians.

“I began to see myself in that role,” he recalls. “I thought my wife would balk at such a major course correction, but she was all for it.”

As it turned out, so was the Air Force. Nearly a decade older than his classmates, Dr. Soeken entered Baylor College of Medicine on a military scholarship. While completing an ophthalmology residency, his mentors raised the possibility of a fellowship in global ophthalmology.

Dr. Soeken chose to complete both a cornea fellowship and a global ophthalmology fellowship at U-M. The first Global Ophthalmology Fellow for both the Jerome Jacobson Program in International Ophthalmology and the U.S. military, Dr. Soeken’s U-M mentors included program co-directors H. Kaz Soong, M.D., and Joshua Ehrlich, M.D., M.P.H.

“Our goal was to help Tim gain as much experience in as many different parts of the world as possible,” says Dr. Ehrlich, “navigating complex situations with cultural sensitivity, working with multiple stakeholders, and mastering the skill set to perform eye surgery in low-resource settings.” Dr. Soeken traveled to the African nations of Kenya and Burundi, as well as to India, Mexico and Jamaica.

“Cataract surgery is so different in many developing countries,” explains Dr. Soeken, “both in the techniques used, and in the condition of the patients, who present with far more advanced disease.”

Dr. Soeken is now one of only a small number of U.S. doctors experienced in multiple methods of performing cataract surgery with limited resources, a necessary skill for medical aid missions.

Major Soeken is now back on base in San Antonio, caring for active and retired military and civilian patients. He has completed subsequent medical travel to Honduras and Guatemala and is planning more trips to Central America in 2023 in his role directing the humanitarian health work for the US armed forces.