James Gessler, MD, MPH (left) a board-certified ophthalmologist, has performed cataract surgery for more than 20 years and was the first physician in Springfield to perform laser vision correction in 1995. St. John's Clinic-Eye Specialists was the first practice in the region to offer the AcrySof ReSTOR lens technology. With nearly 300 lenses implanted in the first year, St. John's has the most extensive experience in this procedure in Missouri.

Dr. Gessler received his bachelor of science degree from Creighton University in 1970 and his medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1974. He holds a master of public health degree from the University of Texas and a master of business administration from Missouri State University.

He completed residencies in aerospace medicine and ophthalmology at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Fla., and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Dr. Gessler served as the medical director of the Eye Laser Center in Springfield and as the chairman of the ophthalmology section of St. John's Clinic. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, the Missouri Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the American Medical Association.

Shachar Tauber, M.D., (right) a board-certified ophthalmologist, is recognized as one of the leading cornea and refractive surgeons in the nation. He has performed more than 5,000 refractive procedures with excellent results. Before coming to St. John's, Dr. Tauber served as the medical director for the Yale-New Haven Eye Laser Center, an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale University and director of cornea, external diseases, contact lens and refractive surgery at Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Tauber received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1983 and his medical degree from Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans, La., where he completed his residency in ophthalmology.

Dr. Tauber has completed fellowships in emergency ophthalmology in Anchorage, Alaska; advanced keratorefractive surgery at St. George Corrective Vision Center in Chicago; and refractive surgery with Enrique Suarez, M.D., in Caracas, Venezuela. He was an observational fellow in cornea and external disease at Harvard University's Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and has taught refractive surgery in seven countries, in seven languages.

Dr. Tauber is the director of ophthalmology research at St. John's and serves on the board of Unite for Sight, a nonprofit global humanitarian organization.