A native of North Carolina, Newsome earned a B.A. from
Duke University and an M.D. from the
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed a residency in ophthalmology at
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital. He then served as a medical and surgical Fellow in retinal diseases, followed by a fellowship in retinal and surgical diseases at the
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute,
University of Miami. He continued clinical research and training activities at the National Eye Institute,
National Institutes of Health, where he rose to Chief of the Retinal and Ocular Connective Tissue Disease Section,
National Eye Institute. He subsequently became Associate Professor of Ophthalmology in the Wilmer Eye Institute at
Johns Hopkins University. He next accepted a tenured Professorship of Ophthalmology at
Louisiana State University. During that time, he continued to head a research laboratory and pursue teaching activities as Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology,
Tulane University School of Medicine. He then established a private clinical practice in
New Orleans,
Louisiana. After 15 years as President of the Retinal Institute of Louisiana, which he founded and operated, he was forced by the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina to relocate to the
Tampa Bay area of Florida. He left clinical medicine to accept the position of Chief Scientific Officer of an emerging
pharmaceutical industry. ==Philanthropy==