Dr Bita Esmaeli is a Professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Plastic Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr Esmaeli has carried a full-time practice of orbital oncology and oncologic oculoplastic surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center since 1998.
Dr. Esmaeli established the Ophthalmology Section as a comprehensive full-time specialty at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1998. She served as the Director of the Ophthalmologic Services from 1998 to 2001 and as the Chief of the Ophthalmology Section at M. D. Anderson from 2001 to 2004. She is the Program Director for an ASOPRS-sponsored and ACGME-approved fellowship in oculoplastic surgery and orbital oncology at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr Esmaeli has authored over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts, over 50 invited articles and book chapters, has spearheaded several clinical trials and has participated in numerous research protocols at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. She has received many prestigious awards and honors including the Merrill Reeh Pathology Award and the Research Award from the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award, Best Doctors in America, and Top Doctors Award. Dr Esmaeli was inducted as a member of the American Ophthalmologic Society in 2012.
Dr Esmaeli 's clinical practice focuses on the surgical treatment of tumors of the eyelid, orbit, and conjunctiva, complex reconstructive surgery in the periocular region, and lacrimal surgery. Her research interests include molecular signature of ocular and orbital tumors, tissue banking for rare tumors of the eye and orbit, and eye and vision-sparing treatment strategies for orbital and ocular cancers.
Education & Training
University of Michigan Hospitals and Health CentersResidency, Ophthalmology, 1991 - 1994
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical CenterInternship, Transitional Year, 1990 - 1991
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin UniversityClass of 1990
Certifications & Licensure
OK State Medical License2020 - 2021
TX State Medical License1998 - 2021
CA State Medical License1994 - 2022
American Board of OphthalmologyOphthalmology
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
MemberAmerican Ophthalmologic Society
Senior Achievement AwardAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology
Hamzah Mustak, Wenjing Liu, Fabiola Murta, Omar Ozgur, Steven M. Couch, James A. Garrity, Roman Shinder, Michael Kazim, Alison B. Callahan, Brent Hayek, HeeJoon Kim, F...> ;Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2020 Jun 2
Xu, S., Moss, T. J., Rubin, M. L., Ning, J., Eterovic, K., Yu, H., Jia, R., Fan, X., Tetzlaff, M. T., Esmaeli, B.> ;Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc. 2020 Jan 16
Joshua L. Owen, Nour Kibbi, Brandon Worley, Ryan C. Kelm, Jordan V. Wang, Christopher A. Barker, Ramona Behshad, Christopher K. Bichakjian, Diana Bolotin, Jeremy S. Bo...> ;Lancet Oncology. 2019 Dec 1
Pinnix, C. C., Dabaja, B. S., Milgrom, S. A., Smith, G. L., Yehia, Z. A., Nastoupil, L., Romaguera, J., Turturro, F., Fowler, N., Fayad, L., Westin, J., Neelapu, S., F...> ;Head & neck. 2019 Apr 17
Oded Sagiv, Diana Bell, Yunxia Guo, Shirley Y. Su, Sara T. Wester, Kailun Jiang, Vivian T. Yin, Roman Shinder, Brent Hayek, Hee Joon Kim, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Bita Esm...> ;Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2019 Mar 1
Tine Gadegaard Olsen, Frederik Holm, Lauge Hjorth Mikkelsen, Peter Kristian Rasmussen, Sarah E. Coupland, Bita Esmaeli, Paul T. Finger, Gerardo F. Graue, Hans E. Gross...> ;American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2019 Mar 1
Zhou, C., Wu, F., Chai, P., Shi, Y., Ye, J., Shi, X., Tan, J., Ding, Y., Luo, Y., Esmaeli, B., Jia, R., Fan, X.> ;Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2019 Jan 15
Oded Sagiv, Thomas J. Kandl, Sudip D. Thakar, Bradley A. Thuro, Naifa L. Busaidy, Maria E. Cabanillas, Camilo Jimenez, Ramona Dadu, Paul H. Graham, J. Matthew Debnam, ...> ;Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2019 Jan 1
Tetzlaff, M. T.,Curry, J. L.,Ning, J.,Sagiv, O.,Kandl, T.,Peng, B.,Bell, D.,Routbort, M. J.,Hudgens, C. W.,Ivan, D.,Kim, T.,Chen, K.,Eterovic, A. K.,Shaw, KRM.,Prieto,...> ;Clin. Cancer Res.. 2018 Nov 14
Anil Korkut, Sobia Zaidi, Rupa S. Kanchi, Shuyun Rao, Nancy R. Gough, Andre Schultz, Xubin Li, Philip L. Lorenzi, Ashton C. Berger, Gordon Robertson, Lawrence N. Kwong...> ;Cell systems. 2018 Oct 24
Kandl, T. J.,Sagiv, O.,Curry, J. L.,Ning, J.,Ma, J.,Hudgens, C. W.,Van Arnam, J.,Wargo, J. A.,Esmaeli, B.,Tetzlaff, M. T.> ;Oncoimmunology. 2018 Sep 20
Sagiv, O.,Thakar, S. D.,Manning, J. T.,Kandl, T. J.,Fayad, L. E.,Fowler, N.,Hagemeister, F. B.,Fanale, M. A.,Pinnix, C. C.,Samaniego, F.,Esmaeli, B.> ;Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018 Aug 21
Sagiv, O., Nagarajan, P., Ferrarotto, R., Kandl, T. J., Thakar, S. D., Glisson, B. S., Altan, M., Esmaeli, B.> ;The British journal of ophthalmology. 2018 Jul 20
Alison M. Taylor, Juliann Shih, Gavin Ha, Galen F. Gao, Xiaoyang Zhang, Ashton C. Berger, Steven E. Schumacher, Chen Wang, Hai Hu, Jianfang Liu, Alexander J. Lazar, Sa...> ;Cancer Cell. 2018 Apr 9
Han Chen, Chunyan Li, Xinxin Peng, Zhicheng Zhou, John N. Weinstein, Samantha J. Caesar-Johnson, John A. Demchok, Ina Felau, Melpomeni Kasapi, Martin L. Ferguson, Caro...> ;Cell. 2018 Apr 5