Hans E. Grossniklaus, MD, MBA
F. Phinizy Calhoun Jr. Professor of
Ophthalmology
Director, L.F. Montgomery Pathology Laboratory
Director, Ocular Oncology Service
Vice-chairman, Department of Ophthalmology
Medical School
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH: 1977-1980
Internship
Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH: 1980-1981
Residency
Case Western Reserve University (ophthalmology), Cleveland OH: 1981-1984
Case Western Reserve University (pathology), Cleveland OH: 1985-1988
Fellowship
Wilmer Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD: 1984-1985
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC: 1988-1989
Serving as director of the L.F. Montgomery Laboratory and Ocular Oncology Service, I have expertise in diagnostic ophthalmic pathology, ocular oncology and ophthalmic pathology/oncology research. Diagnostic ophthalmic pathology includes surgical pathology of ocular and periocular tissue, including cornea, vitreous, retina, uvea, conjunctiva, eyelid, and orbit. Ocular oncology includes conjuncitval, retinal, iris, ciliary body and choroidal tumors. Having served as the director of the Submacular Surgery Trials (SST) Pathology Center, I also have expertise in age-related macular degeneration.
My clinical areas of interest are ocular oncology and age-related macular degeneration. My research areas of interest are pathogenesis and control of metastatic melanoma from the eye to the liver and pathobiology of choroidal neovascularization.
Recent discoveries and accomplishments in the L.F. Montgomery Laboratory:
2000 Discovery that the spread of eye melanoma to the liver first occurs as small collections of cells, called micrometastases, leading to new understanding of the most common form of eye cancer.
2001 Started the Internet-Based Eye Pathology Teaching Initiative (IBETI) with a teaching grant. This was the first Web-based program for ophthalmology teaching of its kind in the United States.
2002 As director of the NIH funded Submacular Surgery Surgery Trials pathology laboratory, Dr. Grossniklaus discovers that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is produced by a type of inflammatory cell, the macrophage, in new blood vessel growth (choroidal neovascularization) in age-related macular degeneration, leading in part to new treatments for the disease.
2004 Evaluated 30,000 cases over the previous 15 years.
2008 Ocular melanoma service at Emory is recognized by Blue Cross/Blue Shield as a center of excellence for rare and complex cancers.
A clinical trial, the IATOM study (Interferon Alpha for the Treatment of Ocular Melanoma), utilizing Interferon as a treatment for ocular melanoma is initiated.
