Justis P. Ehlers

About Justis P. Ehlers

Justis Ehlers has pioneered intraoperative OCT not only in the field of retina but across ophthalmology, including for epiretinal membranes, complex retinal procedures, macular hole surgery, and DMEK. His involvement has ranged from being part of the team that developed one of the very first microscope-integrated OCT systems to leading the DISCOVER and PIONEER landmark studies that included over 4000 patients in these prospective studies evaluating the feasibility and utility of intraoperative OCT in ophthalmic surgery. Intraoperative OCT has now moved from a “research-only opportunity” to widespread commercial availability.

Beyond intraoperative OCT, Ehlers’ work in imaging biomarker discovery and validation is now at the forefront of novel clinical trial design and emerging clinical trial endpoints. These biomarkers are now being incorporated into global clinical trials for new opportunities in assessment of the impact of emerging therapeutics on retinal diseases. Specifically, preservation of ellipsoid zone integrity, a biomarker of photoreceptor health that has been validated and refined by Ehlers’ team, has now been recognized by the FDA as the first approvable OCT-based end point for dry age-related macular degeneration. This is a paradigm shift in the clinical trial landscape that may allow a new approach for evaluating treatment effect. Measuring these biomarkers also appear to be highly valuable in identifying patients at greatest risk for disease progression.

In addition to OCT, his work in quantitative ultra-widefield angiography has demonstrated the critical role that leakage dynamics play in diabetic retinopathy and overall risk for progression and is being included in multiple clinical trials.