Justis Ehlers, MD
Staff
Norman C. & Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair for Ophthalmic Research
Director, Tony & Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery & Advanced Imaging Research
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
The Justis P. Ehlers Lab leads the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research investigating applications of advanced technologies for surgical applications and imaging biomarker discovery in multiple retinal disorders, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease through advanced image analysis techniques and artificial intelligence platforms.
Biography
Justis P. Ehlers, MD serves as the Norman C. and Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair for Ophthalmic Research at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. He is also the Director of the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research. He earned his medical degree at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he served as Chief Resident. Dr. Ehlers then pursued a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at the Duke Eye Center in Durham, North Carolina as a Heed Fellow and Ronald G. Michels Fellow.
Since 2010, Dr. Ehlers has been at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic where his laboratory focuses on translational intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, image-guided surgery, advanced image analysis and imaging biomarker discovery. Dr. Ehlers has authored over 190 peer-reviewed publications, 25 book chapters and over 200 scientific abstracts. He has also been the senior editor for three books and given over 75 invited lectures. His work has also resulted in multiple issued patents.
Dr. Ehlers has been recognized through numerous awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Senior Achievement Award, the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presidential Award, the Macula Society Young Investigator Award, the ASRS Young Investigator Award, the AAO Secretariat Award and the Power List Top 40 Under 40. Dr. Ehlers has served on the ASRS Board of Directors and on the AAO Council since 2019. He has also been engaged in multiple leadership positions at the Cleveland Clinic, including serving as the Medical Director for Continuous Improvement, the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Faculty Council and the Cleveland Clinic Professional Staff Advisory Council.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed
2010
Fellowship - Duke University Medical Center
Vitreoretinal Surgery
Durham, NC USA
2010
Residency - Wills Eye Hospital
Ophthalmology
Philadelphia, PA USA
2008
Internship - Saint Luke's Hospital
Preliminary Medicine
Chesterfield, MO USA
2005
Medical Education - Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO USA
2004
Undergraduate - University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN USA
2000
- Co-chief Editor, Wills Eye Manual, 5th edition.
- Heed Fellow and Ronald G. Michels Fellow, Duke Eye Center
- Chief Resident, Wills Eye Institute
- Associate Editor, Retina, 2009-2010.
- Ophthalmology
Diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, retinal vein occlusions, macular holes, macular puckers and epiretinal membranes, eye injuries and ocular trauma, myopic degeneration, retinal artery occlusions, cystoid macular edema, histoplasmosis, choroidal neovascularization, retinal neovascularization and other vitreoretinal diseases. Advanced vitreoretinal imaging, with particular interest in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and utilizing OCT in the operating room to improve our understanding of vitreoretinal surgical diseases and the ultrastructural impact of surgical maneuvers, to help guide surgical interventions and improve outcomes.
Awards & Honors- Ronald G. Michels Fellowship Award, 2009
- Heed Fellowship Award, 2008
- Shipman Award, 2008
- Alpha Omega Alpha, 2003
- Senior Merit Scholar, 2003
- Phi Beta Kappa, 2000
- Furthering the progress of the use of intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the study of vitreoretinal surgical diseases and the impact of surgical manipulations on microstructural anatomy, such as with optic-pit related maculopathy.
- Development of the use of OCT contrast agents for enhanced visualization of tissue interfaces for ophthalmic applications of OCT imaging, including the development of “functional OCT” for incisional integrity assessment.
- Optimization and testing of OCT integration into the surgical microscope, allowing for real-time visualization of surgical maneuvers, characterization of intraocular instrumentations, and optimization of capturing OCT-visualized intraoperative motion.
- American Society of Retina Specialists, 2008- present
- Society of Heed Fellows, 2008- present
- Wills Eye Hospital Society, 2008 - present
- Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, 2006 - present
- American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2005 - present
- American Medical Association, 2003 - present
Research
The goals of the Ehlers Lab, designated as the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research, are primarily focused in two areas.
The first area of focus is in enhancing precision medicine for retinal disease management through imaging biomarker discovery and characterization. Using advanced image analysis technologies, including deep learning platforms, the Ehlers lab is focused on developing novel tools and end points for multiple retinal diseases with a particular interest in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease. Specifically, the team is focused on biomarker discovery and characterization to enable greater precision medicine, clinical trial optimization and novel endpoint development.
The second area of focus is in image-guided surgery and utilizing advanced technology, such as intraoperative OCT and 3D digital visualization, in ophthalmic surgery. The team has led two large-scale prospective studies that have enrolled over 3000 subjects over the last decade in image-guided surgery investigations.
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Justis Ehlers, MD
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