Justis Ehlers MD

Justis P. Ehlers, MD, is the Norman C. and Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair of Ophthalmic Research and the Director of the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research at the Cole Eye Institute.

He is a Staff physician on the vitreoretinal service of the Cole Eye Institute in the Department of Ophthalmology at Cleveland Clinic. He was appointed in 2010. Dr. Ehlers received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude at the University of Notre Dame. He completed his medical degree at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Following medical school, he did an internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and served as Chief Resident from 2004-2005. From the Wills Eye Institute, Dr. Ehlers then completed a vitreoretinal surgery and disease fellowship at the Duke Eye Institute in Durham, North Carolina.

Clinically, Dr. Ehlers specializes in the diagnosis and management of medical and surgical vitreoretinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), retinal vascular occlusive disease, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, myopic degeneration, cystoid macular edema, ocular trauma, epiretinal membranes, vitreomacular traction syndrome, and macular holes.

Active in research, Dr. Ehlers has served as the principal investigator on numerous clinical trials including studies on macular degeneration, vitreoretinal interface abnormalities, retinal venous occlusive disease, and ophthalmic imaging. He has directed one of the largest prospective intraoperative OCT studies to date.

Dr. Ehlers has a particular interest in advanced vitreoretinal imaging, including novel approaches for image biomarker discovery and applying imaging to surgery through intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT). He leads a dynamic multi-disciplinary research team, including data scientists, computer scientists, engineers, research physicians, and other research personnel.

Dr. Ehlers is a major contributor to the medical literature having authored more than 180 peer-reviewed articles, numerous book reports, and over 200 scientific abstracts. He has also been the co-chief editor for 3 books, including the Wills Eye Manual, 5th Edition, one of the best-selling texts in ophthalmology. He has received multiple NIH grants to support these research endeavors.

He serves on the American Academy of Ophthalmology Council and the American Society of Retina Specialists Board of Directors. His work has been recognized through multiple awards, including the Top 40 Under 40 Award, the AAO Senior Achievement Award, the ASRS Senior Honor Award, the AAO Secretariat Award, and multiple Cleveland Clinic Innovation Awards.