William De La Peña

Born in Whittier, California, the Honorable William De La Peña M.D. earned his MD from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, where he graduated first in his class in 1975. That year, Dr. William De La Peña returned to California to take a rotating internship at UC Irvine, subsequently beginning his residency in Ophthalmology at UC Irvine, where he became chief resident his last year.

Dr. William De La Peña received the opportunity to complete a yearlong fellowship at the University of London, where he conducted research on cornea and external diseases for a year before returning to the States to pursue a one year fellowship at Louisiana State University (LSU). At LSU, Dr. De La Peña was able to conduct research into the treatment and prevention of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis and study epidermal growth factor in relation to the healing of corneal endothelial cells.

In 1984, he founded the De La Peña Eye Clinic in Los Angeles County, which became in time one of the largest cataract practices in the country. Concurrent to building his Los Angeles-area business, he served as the CEO of Magnavision from 1985 to 1989, as well as an instructor of ophthalmology at UC Irvine from 1984 to 1990. Dr. William De La Peña also served as chairman and director of the Santa Marta Hospital Department of Ophthalmology. In 1991 he founded the Latin American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ALACCSA), which he still chairs and is honorary president. In 1999 he co-founded and became Chair of the World Federation of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Additionally, he served as a professor of ophthalmology, and co-chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Costa Rica. He is an Honorary Professor of Ophthalmology and was granted the title Doctor Honoris Causa by his alma mater, the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, where he still sits on their advisory board.
He has lectured internationally extensively and is considered by many as the father of teaching phacoemulsification in Latin America. Dr. De La Peña was awarded the medal of honor of the Spanish Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (SECOIR).