Carolina Eye Associates is excited to announce the addition of Karen B. Ashley, MD, to their medical staff. Dr. Ashley is a specialist in oculoplastic and orbital surgery. She will be treating patients in the Dunn, Fayetteville and Southern Pines clinics.

Dr. Ashley attended the University of Virginia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Art History. She then moved to France to teach English to elementary school students for a year before starting her medical training. She completed her medical school training at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society.

Following medical school, she spent a year working in clinical research in ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Fla. She then completed her internship at UT Austin Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas and her ophthalmology residency at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. During her training, she authored several publications in peer-reviewed journals, presented at ophthalmology conferences and was selected as a reviewer for an ophthalmic journal.

Dr. Ashley also completed an additional two-year ASOPRS (American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) Fellowship at TOC Eye and Face, along with a one-year AACS (American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery) Fellowship.

Dr. Ashley has a passion for international service and has participated in annual ophthalmology trips to the Eastern Caribbean with World Pediatric Project, a nonprofit organization that provides subspecialty surgical care to children.