About Dr. Melanie Bennett-Sims, MD

Dr. Melanie Bennett-Sims is a board-certified ophthalmologist and cornea specialist at CarlinVision in Snellville, Georgia, serving patients throughout Gwinnett County and the greater Atlanta area. She brings a rare combination of comprehensive ophthalmology training and advanced subspecialty expertise — including corneal transplant surgery, dry eye disease treatment, and the management of complex corneal and external eye conditions — to every patient she sees.

Dr. Bennett-Sims completed her undergraduate studies at Spelman College in Atlanta, earning a B.S. in Biology in 1999, before going on to earn her M.D. from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta in 2003 — graduating Magna Cum Laude and earning induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She completed her internship at the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital in Gainesville, followed by her ophthalmology residency at Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where she was named Chief Resident and received the Joseph Dessoff, MD Award for Ophthalmology Education. She then completed a prestigious Cornea Fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — one of the most respected cornea training programs in the world — where she also received the Walter Stark Research Award Grant.

That fellowship-level training is the foundation of Dr. Bennett-Sims’s specialty focus at CarlinVision. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disease (at an Accredited Dry Eye Center), corneal transplant surgery, DSAEK (Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty), and keratoconus management — conditions that require a level of subspecialty expertise not available at every ophthalmology practice in the Atlanta area.

Dr. Bennett-Sims is a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology and holds active membership in the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She is certified as a Cornea Specialist with VISX and leads CarlinVision’s Accredited Dry Eye Center.

Her commitment to advancing the field extends to published and presented research, including studies conducted at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University, and Morehouse School of Medicine on topics ranging from intraocular lens calculations in high myopia to DSAEK surgical outcomes and lens morphology. She has also served as a mentor and role model with a long-term commitment to providing excellent eye care to diverse patient populations across the Atlanta metro area.

Outside the office, Dr. Bennett-Sims remains active in the academic and professional communities that shaped her training — continuing to pursue the highest standards of vision care for her patients in Snellville and throughout Gwinnett County.

Helping patients obtain the benefits of my training

“My ultimate goal is to provide excellent healthcare to a diverse population as well as helping others develop and pursue their dreams – as a mentor, researcher and role model.”

“Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Calculations in High Myopia Using the Zeiss IOL Master” , Johns Hopkins, 2007

“A Retrospective Review of DSEK Outcomes and Complications” , Georgetown University/Washington Hospital Center , 2007

“Morphological Study of the Ball and Socket Formation of the Lens of the Eye” , Morehouse School of Medicine, ABSTRACT , ARVO, 2001