Richard A. Saunders, M.D., is the N. Edgar Miles professor of ophthalmology and clinical vice-chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. He completed his medical degree (MD) at Columbia University following his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College. He held a general medical internship at St. Luke's Hospital Center in New York and completed his residency in ophthalmology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dr. Saunders was the first pediatric ophthalmologist in South Carolina when he joined the faculty of MUSC in 1978. He is a broad-based pediatric ophthalmologist with research interests in retinopathy of prematurity and strabismus. He is responsible for the discovery of ROP in Hanoi, Vietnam, which led to the initiation of a robust screening and laser treatment program. He has published over 100 articles, book chapters, and monographs on various topics in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Dr. Saunders has received Honor Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a Senior Honor Award from the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. He has recently been appointed Medical Director of Newborn Ophthalmological Services at MUSC.