In 1944, on her 69th birthday, Mrs. Carrie Estelle Doheny, wife of the prominent Los Angeles oilman Edward L. Doheny, lost the sight in her left eye. Suddenly aware of the precious and delicate nature of the gift of sight, Mrs. Doheny created and funded the organization named for her.

The Doheny Eye Institute began in two small rooms at St. Vincent Hospital in 1947. Today, the Institute is an independent, non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Southern California, and has emerged as a world leader in basic and clinical vision research and advanced patient care.

Doheny stands among the top 3 recipients of National Eye Institute grants, which funds 80% of all vision research in America.The Institute's research programs continually result in new diagnostic and treatment procedures and are respected internationally for the quality of research being conducted.

The Doheny Eye Institute is an umbrella for three distinct but interrelated organizations: Doheny Eye Institute, Doheny Eye Medical Group (DEMG), and USC's Department of Ophthalmology.