Judie Charlton, M.D.
“Without the scholarships I received from the School of Medicine, my education and training would not have been possible. WVU and West Virginia as a whole invested in my education, so it only made sense for me to invest my career back into this state.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy, Judie Charlton, M.D., began her journey at the WVU School of Medicine as a scholarship medical student in 1981. That journey led her through residency, fellowship and a successful career spanning more than 30 years with the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and WVU Medicine.
Dr. Charlton officially joined the Department’s faculty as an assistant professor in 1989 following the completion of her residency. She said she saw the opportunity as a chance for her to give back to the state and the institution that made her education and training possible.
“Without the scholarships I received from the School of Medicine, my education and training would not have been possible,” Charlton explained. “WVU and West Virginia as a whole invested in my education, so it only made sense for me to invest my career back into this state.”
Throughout the next three decades, Charlton did just that. She provided ocular care to patients in need, all while helping train and inspire the next generation of ophthalmologists. She also became involved in several outreach projects, including a mobile clinic providing crucial services to rural West Virginia patients.
For 15 years, Charlton and a team of physicians traveled to Gilbert, West Virginia with medical students to provide ocular services to patients while educating students about practicing rural medicine. Charlton said the project was made possible through various fundraising and grant opportunities and that she looks back at it as one of the proudest accolades of her career.
“It is my hope that through the Gilbert Clinic, I was able to make an impact on not only the lives of the patients we served but also on the students we educated as we showed them firsthand the effects that medical care can have on a rural population,” she said.
Charlton served in several leadership roles throughout her career at the School of Medicine, including chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences from 2008-2011 and chief medical officer of the WVU School of Medicine from 2010-2020.
As CMO, Charlton said she was fortunate enough to be involved in several key advancements for the state, including the addition of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. Though she acknowledges that she was a part of a larger team, she said she is grateful to WVU for putting her in a position where she could help make positive differences in the health of West Virginians on a large scale.
“Thanks to the opportunities that were provided to me as a medical student, resident, fellow and faculty member, I was able to have a seat at the table and become involved in several key decisions that benefitted our state,” Charlton said. “As I look back on those years, I am proud of the work we have done so far and look forward to the advancements I know the University will continue to make in the future.”
Charlton retired from the University in July, but remains an active alumnus and emeritus faculty member.