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Just before he graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), Kurt Moody, OD ‘83, FAAO, got a phone call from Joseph Pugliese, MD, an ophthalmologist from his hometown.
Dr. Pugliese had a vision: to create the first freestanding ambulatory surgical center in Pennsylvania where ophthalmologists only performed surgery and optometrists completed all primary and secondary care.
That sounded interesting to Dr. Moody, but nobody was doing that at the time. Still, Dr. Moody took a chance and joined Pugliese Eye Specialists in Kingston, Pennsylvania, in May 1983.
“This concept of MDs and ODs working together was novel at this time and was not embraced by many of Dr Pugliese’s peers,” said Dr. Moody. “But it was a fantastic environment for me, seeing all primary and secondary care patients and interacting with ophthalmologists; plus the patients of the Wyoming Valley had the best of care. Without a doubt it propelled my career.”
Dr. Moody’s career, spanning four decades, includes 12 U.S. and international patents in contact lens design. As he looks ahead, he’s preparing for the next chapter - retiring in December 2024 and launching his own consulting company.
Originally from Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania, just outside of Wilkes Barre, Dr. Moody was the first in his family to go to college and earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Wilkes University. Wilkes had an affiliated program with PCO, and Dr. Moody’s advisor recommended he apply to the optometry college. Although he was away from home for the first time and in a smaller educational environment, Dr. Moody thrived at PCO.
“From an educational standpoint, it was phenomenal,” he said. “I was fortunate in that I excelled at PCO academically. The interaction with the faculty was top-notch. PCO had great educators, they cared for the students, the information we were getting was cutting edge and pertinent and the experiences were the best.”
Particularly the externship experiences. Dr. Moody did his first externship with John Biernacki, OD ‘52, from whom he learned the importance of community and humanism when interacting with patients. Dr. Moody’s second and fourth externships were at the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which he called “a phenomenal experience that developed my ability to diagnose pathology.”
Immediately after graduation, he joined Dr. Pugliese which eventually became Eye Care Specialists of Northeast Pennsylvania, where he would spend the first 22 years of his career and where he worked with ophthalmologist Frank Bucci, MD. Dr. Bucci was fresh out of a corneal fellowship and had experience in research. The two bonded quickly and began doing independent research together.
They proved to be a formidable research team. The two published a paper on the first reported case of a corneal ulcer with a rigid gas permeable lens. In addition, they were awarded the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists (CLAO) poster of the year, which brought them attention from several content lens companies. That led to Dr. Moody becoming a principal investigator and speaker for several of these companies.
After being named director of optometry at Eye Care Specialists, becoming a fellow in the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and a diplomate in the Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies of the AAO, Dr. Moody was heavily recruited by Johnson and Johnson Vision. He decided to make a change and in 2005 moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with his family.
“The opportunity to continually learn was what interested me,” said Dr. Moody. “After 22 years of practice, sometimes professional life becomes stagnant. But the opportunity to learn something completely new was invigorating.”
In nearly 20 years at J&J, Dr. Moody spent 13 years in research and development, two years on the surgical side of the business and the last five years in professional education. Along the way, he also learned about the manufacturing process.
Of the many highlights of his time at J&J, Dr. Moody was the recipient of the Johnson Award in 2015, given by the company to products or groups that have made substantial contributions to the science of a new product.
“As an optometrist, we understand the clinical aspects,” said Dr. Moody. “But as you broaden your horizon and learn other areas, you can take advantage of your clinical knowledge and incorporate the other pieces of the puzzle that you’ve gathered — optics, polymer science, mechanical engineering — to help create impactful medical products. I’ve been fortunate to do this at J&J.”
He credits his family for creating the foundation on which he was able to build his career, key being his wife Georgia; daughter Kaitlyn Keller, a dental hygienist in Indiana; daughter Kelsey Moody Mileski, OD ‘15, Resident ‘16-‘17, who followed her father to PCO and taught neuro-optometry there for a few years before relocating to Jacksonville; son Jacob, who recently graduated from medical school and is currently doing his residency in West Palm Beach, Florida; and four grandchildren.
In addition to consulting 10 to 15 hours a week, Dr. Moody, who was an adjunct at PCO before joining J&J, would like to return to his alma mater as a guest lecturer to share his knowledge and experience to the next generation of Doctor of Optometry students.
“As I look back at my career, I feel confident with the fact that I’ve helped a lot of patients while in practice,” said Dr. Moody. “I’m also proud of the fact that I helped create contact lenses that are improving patients’ quality of life. The biggest impact though is that Georgia and I have raised three great children that are positively impacting patients’ lives and the world they live in. I’ve been fortunate for everything that’s happened in my career and I’m thankful for the opportunities I received at PCO.”
