Dr. Scharf graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College and received his medical degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Scharf did his internship at Winthrop University Hospital, and he completed his ophthalmology training at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he served as chief resident. Dr. Scharf then performed a year of subspecialty training in cornea and refractive surgery at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Scharf has appeared on several television and radio medical talk shows, and he has lectured to community groups as well as scientific audiences. He has performed cornea and glaucoma research, and he is a contributing author to a major ophthalmology textbook on the cornea.