John Christoforidis, M.D., Ophthalmologist

26 Years Of Experience

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John Christoforidis, M.D., Ophthalmologist

26 Years Of Experience

Dr. Christoforidis joined Retina Specialists of Southern Arizona from the University of Arizona College of Medicine where he has served as Associate Professor and director of vitreoretinal services for the past 5 years. Previously he was Assistant Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, OH where he served as Vitreoretinal Fellowship Program Director. Dr. Christoforidis completed clinical and research vitreoretinal fellowships at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston and remained there as faculty for 1 year after finishing his fellowships. He completed his residency at University of Maryland in Baltimore, a clinical fellowship at the National Eye Institute at NIH in Bethesda, MD and his medical studies at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

In addition to his clinical and surgical skills, Dr. Christoforidis has had an active research lab and has served as principal investigator on numerous nationally-based clinical trials. He has authored more than 65 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and over 100 abstracts. Some of the research topics include the development of a novel method to analyze the pharmacokinetic and anatomic properties of intravitreally placed drugs, examining the effects of anti-VEGF agents on cutaneous wound healing and the application of radiologic instrumentation to detect pathologic conditions in the eye. He has received numerous awards for the results of his research. Dr. Christoforidis has been an invited speaker at various universities, and he has lectured on a regular basis at national and international conferences. He is a member of The Retina Society, the American Society of Retina Specialists, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, ARVO and a candidate member of the prestigious Club Jules Gonin.

In his time away from work, Dr. Chris likes to spend time with his family. He enjoys physical fitness activities, basketball, piano and college football. He is an avid traveler and a diamond-level member of the Travelers’ Century Club.

Education & Training
  • B.A. - The Ohio State University 1985
  • M.D. - The Ohio State University College of Medicine
  • Internship - Department of Internal Medicine, Mount Carmel Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States 1992-93
  • Research Fellowship - Ophthalmic Genetics and Clinical Services Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, United States 1993-96
  • Residency - Ophthalmology, Maryland General Hospital, Baltimore, MD, United States 1996-99
  • Observer - Departments of Ophthalmology and Radiation Oncology, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece 1999-2000
  • Research Fellowship - Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Retina Department: Dr. Donald J DAmico, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States 2001-03
  • Clinical Fellowship - Massachussetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Retina Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States 2003-05
Awards
  • Intramural Research Training Award. National Institutes of Health. National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, United States. Subject: Ophthalmologic Research 1993-96
  • Chief Resident. Maryland General Hospital. Subject: Ophthalmology 1998-99
  • Best Doctors in America. U.S. News & World Report. Best Doctors, Boston, MA, United States Subject: Ophthalmology 2007-08
  • Captain-Annual Vision Walk. Foundation Fighting Blindness 2008
  • Best Doctors in America. US News & World Report. Best Doctors, Boston, MA, United States 2009-10
  • Scientific Poster Exhibition Award at 10th EVRS Congress. European Vitreoretinal Society Congress (EVRS). European Vitreoretinal Society Congress, Bremen, Germany. Subject: Ophthalmology Research 2010
  • Excellence in Teaching Award. Ohio State University College of Medicine. The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States. ($1,000.00) Subject: Ophthalmology Teaching 2010
  • Active Member. The Retina Society. The Retina Society, Boston, MA, United States. Subject: Retina 2011
  • Scientific Poster Exhibition Award at 10th EVRS Congress. European Vitreoretinal Society Congress. European Vitreoretinal Society Congress, Bremen, Germany Subject: Ophthalmology Research 2011
  • Hot Topic Award. Association for Reseach in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Rockville, MD, United States. Subject: Retinal Research 2011
  • Knights of Pythias and Sisters Research Award. Knights of Pythias and Sisters Subject: Research in Macular Degeneration. ($10,000.00) 2011
  • Best Doctors in America. US News & World Report. Best Doctors, Boston, MA, United States 2011-15
  • Hot Topic Award. Association for Reseach in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Rockville, MD, United States Subject: Retinal Research 2012
  • Diamond Status Membership-Travellers Century Club 2014
  • Best New National Clinical Trial site-Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network 2016
  • Selected as Candidate Member-Club Jules Gonin 2016
Board Certifications
Publications
  • Christoforidis, JB; DeAngelo, Daniel, J; D'Amico, Donald J.(2003). Resolution of leukemic retinopathy following treatment with imatinib mesylate for chronic myelogenous leukemia. . American journal of ophthalmology. Vol. 135, no. 3. : 398-400.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Caruso, Paul, A; Curtin, Hugh, D; Fiore, Tito; D'Amico, Donald J. (2003). CT characteristics of intraocular perfluoro-N-octane. . AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology. Vol. 24, no. 9. (September): 1769-1771.
  • Tsilimbaris, Miltiadis; Lit, Eugene, S; Christoforidis, JB; D'Amico, Donald J. (2004). In vivo rabbit eyecup preparation for use in retinal research. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Vol. 45, no. 3. (March): 906-909.
  • John B. Christoforidis, MD; Donald J. D'Amico. (2004). Surgical and other treatments of diabetic macular edema: an update. International Ophthalmology Clinics. Vol. 44, no. 1. (January): 139-160.
  • Christoforidis JB, Adamis AP, D'Amico DJ. (2005). NSAID Fails to Retard Diabetic Macular Edema. Review of Ophthalmology Retina Online. Vol. 1, no. 2. Edited by Philip Rosenfeld, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Yu, Seung-Young; Viola, Francesco; Christoforidis, JB; D'Amico, Donald J. (2005). Dystrophic calcification of the fibrous capsule around a hydrogel explant 13 years after scleral buckling surgery: capsular calcification of a hydrogel explant. Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.). Vol. 25, no. 8. (December): 1104-1107.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Warden, Scott, M; Demattia, Massimo; D'Amico, Donald J. (2006). In vivo redirection of retinal blood flow into borosilicate micro-cannulas in rabbits. Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology. Vol. 244, no. 8. : 1022-1025.
  • Warden, Scott, M; Pachydaki, Sophia, I; Christoforidis, JB; D'Amico, Donald, J; Loewenstein, John I. (2006). Choroidal neovascularization after epiretinal membrane removal. Archives of ophthalmology. Vol. 124, no. 11. (November): 1652-1654.
  • Christoforidis, JB.; Warden, Scott M.; Farrell, Gault M.; Baker, Meghan; Mukai, Shizuo. (2007). Histology of Retina Overlying Bacterial Subretinal Abscess and Implications for Treatment. Retinal Cases and Brief Reports. Vol. 1, no. 4. (April): 257-260.
  • Davis MD, Bressler SB, Aiello LP, Bressler NM, Browning DJ, Flaxel CJ, Fong DS, Foster WJ, Glassman AR, Hartnett ME, Kollman C, Li HK, Qin H, Scott IU;Davidorf FH, Christoforidis JB et al. (2008). Comparison of time-domain OCT and fundus photographic assessments of retinal thickening in eyes with diabetic macular edema. Investigative Ophthalmology Visual Science. Vol. 49, no. 5. (May): 1745-1752.
  • Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network. (2008). Optical coherence tomography measurements and analysis methods in optical coherence tomography studies of diabetic macular edema. Ophthalmology. Vol. 8, no. 115. (August): 1366-1371.
  • Richdale K, Wassenaar P, Teal Bluestein K, Abduljalil A, Christoforidis JB, Lanz T, Knopp MV, Schmalbrock P. (2009). 7 Tesla MR imaging of the human eye in vivo. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Vol. 5, no. 30. (November 30): 924-932.
  • Christoforidis JB, Ricketts R, Loizos T and Chang S.(2011). Optical coherence tomography findings of quinine poisoning. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 5. (January): 75-80.
  • Christoforidis JB, Tecce N, Dell'omo R, Mastropasqua R, Verolino M, Costagliola C.(2011). Age Related Macular Degeneration and Visual Disability. Current Drug Targets. Vol. 12. (February): 221-233.
  • Christoforidis JB.(2011). Volume of visual field assessed with kinetic perimetry and its application to static perimetry. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 5. (April): 535-541.
  • CATT Research Group.(2011). Ranibizumab and bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 364. (April): 1897-1908.
  • JB Christoforidis, Michelle M. Carlton, Michael V. Knopp and George H. Hinkle.(2011). PET/CT imaging of I-124 radiolabeled bevacizumab and ranibizumab after intravitreal injection in a rabbit model. Investigative Ophthalmolgy & Visual Science. Vol. 52. (July): 5899-5903
  • Chang SC, Vaccarella L, Olatunji S, Cebulla C, Christoforidis JB.(2011). Diagnostic challenges to retinitis pigmentosa: genotypic multiplicity and phenotypic variability. Current Genomics. Vol. 12. (June): 267-275.
  • Gangaputra S, Almukhtar T, Glassman AR, Aiello LP, Bressler N, Bressler SB, Danis RP, Davis MD; Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network.(2011). Comparison of film and digital fundus photographs in eyes of individuals with diabetes mellitus. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. Vol. 9, no. 52. (August 11): 6168-6173.
  • Christoforidis J, Zhang X.(2011). Learning effect of dark adaptation among normal subjects. Graefe's Archives for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. Vol. 9, no. 249. (September): 1345-1352.
  • Christoforidis J, Ricketts R, Bean S, Pratt C, Pierce J, Wells W, Zhang X, La Perle K.(2012). The effect of intravitreal anti-VEGF agents on cutaneous wound healing in a rabbit model. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 6:61-69.
  • Welling J; Tarabishy, A; Christoforidis JB.(2012). Cytomegalovirus retinitis after central retinal vein occlusion in a patient on systemic immunosuppression: Does veno-occlusive disease predispose to cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients already at risk?. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 6: 601-603.
  • Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT) Research Group.(2012). Ranibizumab and bevacizumab for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: Two-year results. Ophthalmology. 119:1388-1398.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Terrell W; Davidorf FH.(2012). The Histopathology of Optic Nerve Pit. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol 6 (April): 1169-1174.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Chang S; Jiang A; Wang J; Cebulla C.(2012). Intravitreal devices in the treatment of vitreous inflammation. Mediators of Inflammation Nov 2012 DOI:10.1155/2012/126463
  • Christoforidis, JB; Williams MM; Kothandaraman S; Kumar K; Epitropoulos F; Knopp MV.(2012). Anatomic and pharmacokinetic properties of intravitreal I-124-aflibercept in a rabbit model using PET/CT. Current Eye Research 37: 1171-4
  • Christoforidis, JB; Chang S; Jiang A; Wang J; Cebulla C.(2012). Systemic treatment of vitreous inflammation. Mediators of Inflammation DOI: 10.1155/2012/936721
  • Romano, MR; Christoforidis, JB; Abu El-Asrar, AM.(2013). Intravitreal Inflammation: From Benchside to Bedside. Mediators of Inflammation DOI: 10.1155/2013/758035 (IF: 3.26)
  • Ying GS, Huang J, Maguire MG, Jaffe GJ, Grunwald JE, Toth C, Daniel E, Klein M, Pieramici D, Wells J, Martin DF; Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials Research Group.(2013). Baseline predictors for one-year visual outcomes with ranibizumab or bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology. Jan;120(1):122-9.
  • Hagstrom SA, Ying GS, Pauer GJ, Sturgill-Short GM, Huang J, Callanan DG, Kim IK, Klein ML, Maguire MG, Martin DF;(2013). Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials Research Group. Pharmacogenetics for genes associated with age-related macular degeneration in the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT). Ophthalmology. Mar;120(3):593-9
  • Christoforidis, JB; Wassenaar PA; Christoforidis GA; Ho VY; Knopp MV; Schmalbrock, PM.(2013). Retrobulbar Vasculature using 7-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Dedicated Eye Surface Coil. Graefe's Archives for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology Vol. 251 (January): 271-7
  • Christoforidis, JB; Wang, J; Jiang, A; Willard, J; Pratt, C; Abdel-Rasoul, M; Roy, S; LaPerle K; Powell H.(2013). The effect of intravitreal bevacizumab and ranibizumab on cutaneous tensile strength during wound healing. Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 7 (January): 185-191.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Williams MM; Epitropoulos F; Knopp MV.(2013). The subconjunctival bleb that forms at the injection site after intravitreal injection is drug not vitreous. Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology Aug;41(6):614-5 .DOI: 10.1111/ceo.12074.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Hinkle, GH; Wang J; Jiang A; Pratt C; Williams, MM; Knopp MV.(2013). Pharmacokinetic properties of intravitreally placed I-124 radiolabeled bevacizumab and ranibizumab after vitrectomy and lensectomy in a rabbit model. Retina 33(5):946-52.
  • Christoforidis, JB; Xie Z; Jiang A; Wang J; Pratt C; Gemensky-Metzler A; Abdel-Rasoul M; Roy S; Liu Z.(2013). Serum levels of intravitreal bevacizumab after vitrectomy, lensectomy and non-surgical controls. Current Eye Research Jul;38(7):761-6.
  • Wang J, Jiang A, Joshi M, Christoforidis JB.(2013). Drug Delivery Implants in thebTreatment of Vitreous Inflammation. Mediators of Inflammation Mediators Inflamm. 2013;2013:780634. doi: 10.1155/2013/780634. Epub 2013 Sep 28
  • Jiang A, Wang J, Joshi M, Christoforidis JB. (2013). Systemic treatments for non-infectious vitreous inflammation. . Mediators of Inflammation 2013:515312. doi: 10.1155/2013/515312. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
  • Agrawal S, Joshi M, Christoforidis JB.(2013). Vitreous inflammation associated with intravitreal anti-VEGF Pharmacotherapy. Mediators of Inflammation 2013:943409. doi: 10.1155/2013/943409. Epub 2013 Nov 6
  • Joshi M, Agrawal S, Christoforidis JB.(2013). Inflammatory Mechanisms of Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Formation. Mediators of Inflammation 2013:192582. doi: 10.1155/2013/192582. Epub 2013 Nov 11
  • Romano, MR and Christoforidis, JB.(2014). Intravitreal Inflammation: From Benchside to Bedside. Mediators of Inflammation. doi: 10.1155/2014/286571. Epub 2014 Feb 10 (IF: 3.92)
  • Agarwal DR, Gelman R, Prospero-Ponce C, Stevenson W, Christoforidis JB.(2015). The vitreoretinal interfaces in diabetic retinopathy. J of Ophthalmology Article ID 392983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/392983
  • Gelman R, Stevenson W, Prospero-Ponce C, Agarwal DR, Christoforidis JB.(2015). Retinal damage induced by inner limiting membrane removal. J of Ophthalmology Article ID 939748 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/939748
  • Romano MR, Valldeperas X, and Christoforidis JB.(2015). Vitreomacular Interface: From Anterior to Tangential Traction. J of Ophthalmology
  • Willoughby AS, Ying GS, Toth CA, Maguire MG, Burns RE, Grunwald JE, Daniel E, Jaffe GJ; Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials Research Group.(2015). Subretinal Hyperreflective Material in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials. Ophthalmology. Sep;122(9):1846-1853.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.05.042.
  • Wells JA, Glassman AR, Jampol LM et al; Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network.(2016). Association of Baseline Visual Acuity and Retinal Thickness With 1-Year Efficacy of Aflibercept, Bevacizumab, and Ranibizumab for Diabetic Macular Edema. JAMA Ophthalmol. Feb;134(2):127-34. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2015.4599.
  • Daniel E, Shaffer J, Ying GS, Grunwald JE, Martin DF, Jaffe GJ, Maguire MG; Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT) Research Group.(2016). Outcomes in Eyes with Retinal Angiomatous Proliferation in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT). Ophthalmology. 2016 Mar;123(3):609-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.10.034.
  • Prospero-Ponce C, Stevenson W, Agarwal DR, Gelman R, Christoforidis JB.(2016). Ocriplasmin: Who is the best patient candidate?. Clin Ophthalmol 10:485-495 Mar 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S97947
  • Stevenson W, Prospero-Ponce C, Gelman R, Agarwal DR, Christoforidis JB.(2016). Primary Epiretinal Membrane: Optical Coherence. Tomography-Based Classification; Clin Ophthalmol 10:527-534 Mar 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S97722
  • John B. Christoforidis, Karen Briley, Prayna Bhatia, Lai Wei, Krishan Kumar and Michael V. Knopp.(2017). Systemic biodistribution and intravitreal pharmacokinetic properties of bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept in a non-human primate model. Invest Ophth Vis Sci. 2017 Vol.58, 5636-5645. doi:10.1167/iovs.17-22431
  • Naghmehossadat E., Christoforidis J., Kuo, P. 18F-FDG PET/CT for Monitoring Response to Therapy of Choroidal Metastasis.(2017). The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology 2017 Nov 10. pii: jnmt.117.198341. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.117.198341. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology 2017 Nov 10. pii: jnmt.117.198341. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.117.198341
  • Christoforidis, JB and Chang SC., (2014). Quinine. In Encyclopedia of Toxicology. 3rd ed.. Edited by Philip Wexler. New York, NY, USA: Elsevier. .
  • Romano Mario R MD PhD, Christoforidis John B MD, Vallejo-Garcia Jose L MD., (2013). Exposure and infection of scleral buckle. In Complications of Vitreo-Retinal Surgery.. Edited by Noemi Lois, MD and David SH Wong, MD. New York, NY, USA: Springer. .
  • Werner S, Christoforidis, JB., Diabetic Retinopathy and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Eye Diseases Associated With Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Edited by Mingwu Wang, MD. Nova Science Publishers pp. 81-93.
  • Pollard K, Christoforidis, JB., Central Serous Chorioretinopathy and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Eye Diseases Associated With Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Edited by Mingwu Wang, MD. Nova Science Publishers pp. 69-79.
  • Imbornoni L, Christoforidis, JB, Retinal Venular Occlusions and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Eye Diseases Associated With Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Edited by Mingwu Wang, MD. Nova Science Publishers pp. 55-67.
Specialites
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Macular Edema