Tara L McGehee, MD
Ophthalmology
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
Tara McGehee, MD, is an ophthalmologist who specializes in diseases of the cornea and external eye. This includes dry eye disease, cataracts, corneal diseases, such as keratoconus, and corneal ulcers. She also performs various procedures, including cataract surgery, implantation of specialty lens implants, corneal transplants and repair of the eye after trauma.
Her research interests include resident surgical education and improving patient health literacy, autoimmune dry eye disease, such as ocular graft-versus-host disease and Sjogren’s syndrome, and corneal endothelial diseases like Fuch’s dystrophy.
McGehee is the associate residency program director for ophthalmology at UVA. She has received multiple awards in recognition of her teaching expertise and excellence, including the UVA Faculty Teaching Award in 2019 and 2020.
A resident of Virginia since the age of 10, McGehee earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at UVA. She spent a year doing full-time research at the National Institutes of Health before pursuing her medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia, now known as Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond.
McGehee remained at VCU Health System for a one-year internship before completing her residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was selected as chief resident during her final year. She then pursued a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at the University of Iowa and joined the UVA faculty in 2018.
Married to her high school sweetheart, McGehee and her husband have one son, Simon, who died during birth. The couple is working to establish a non-profit organization in his honor to support research in bereavement care and delivery trauma. In addition to service work, McGehee enjoys hiking as many new trails in the region as possible, gardening, knitting, yoga and playing with their goldendoodle, Margo.
Academic Information
- Department
- Ophthalmology
- Academic Role
- Assistant Professor
- Division
- Ophthalmology
- Gender
- Female
- Languages
- Spanish, English
- Age Groups Seen
- Primary Education
- Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Residency
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
- Fellowships
- University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
- Certification
- American Board of Ophthalmology (Ophthalmology)
Highlights
Dr. Tara McGehee Video Profile
I am Tara McGehee. I am an ophthalmologist specializing in cornea and external disease. I see all types of patients who have eye diseases, from patients who just want to come in for an annual exam to check for signs of diabetic eye disease, or trouble from things like hypertension or high blood pressure, to people who just want glasses checks. I also operate. I see a lot of patients who have cataracts, and do a lot of cataract surgery. And then I see patients in my area of specialty, which is cornea and external disease. I had an interest in medicine from a young age. I was always sort of a science nerd when I was growing up, and I really loved working with others and serving others, and so medicine felt like a very natural fit. I think my passion really is my patients. Vision is very important to most people, and so I'm able to help restore vision often through surgery or sometimes through glasses or contact lenses, and able to improve the quality of life for my patients, and that is a remarkable thing to be able to do.