Brad Priester, M.D.

Brad Priester grew up in Memphis, TN. He attended public schools in Germantown, then graduated from Rhodes College in 1986. He deferred his acceptance to Emory School of Medicine to spend a gap year working and skiing in Aspen, Colorado. Thinking he would live the rest of his life in the mountains, he began medical school at University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1987. Brad fell in love with a beautiful Tennessee girl, Joanna, who did not want to live in the mountains, so he transferred back to University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1988, married Joanna in 1990 and obtained his M.D. in 1991.

As a fourth-year medical student, Brad became fascinated with the retina and microsurgery and set his sights on being a retinal surgeon. During the second year of his general ophthalmology residency at UT Memphis, Brad and Joanna celebrated the arrival of their only child, Halle. After finishing his residency, he completed a two-year fellowship in retinal surgery, studying under renowned mentors, Bob Morris and Doug Witherspoon, at University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Joanna wanted to be closer to family, so she insisted Brad begin his career in Jackson, TN. In June of 1997, he became the first retinal surgeon to move his family to Jackson. Brad never dreamed he would later be joined in Jackson by two world-class retinal surgeons, Sunny Khamapirad in 2005 and Lance Gordon in 2018. The camaraderie between surgeons, administration and staff and the entire team’s commitment to great patient care make Brad eternally thankful for Joanna’s early wisdom and guidance. In his spare time, Brad loves to spend time with Joanna, Halle and Danny Gross (Halle’s husband), golf, hike with the family dog, Bunny, and pursue his hobby of inventing.