Jay Pepose

Dr. Jay Pepose is a recognized thought leader in the field of ophthalmology, with nearly 40 years of experience as both a treating physician and a widely published researcher. He is the founder and the current Medical Director of the Pepose Vision Institute, and also founded the Midwest Corneal Research Foundation, now the Midwest Vision Research Foundation, as an independent spinout of the Pepose Vision Institute. He is a professor of clinical ophthalmology and visual sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he is a specialist in refractive surgery and corneal and external diseases. Dr. Pepose is also a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Pepose is actively involved in clinical research trials and has been the recipient of R-01 grant support from the National Eye Institute. He has served on the editorial boards of several prestigious journals, including the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), Cornea, and The Journal of Refractive Surgery. He has published over 210 peer-reviewed articles and a book on ocular infections and inflammatory diseases. Since 1990, Dr. Pepose has also served as an investigator on over 30 separate clinical trials, evaluating new therapeutics and technology across a broad range of ophthalmic indications, including adenoviral and bacterial conjunctivitis, meibomian gland dysfunction, dry eye disease, open-angle glaucoma, ocular hypertension, anterior uveitis, and reversal of presbyopia.

Dr. Pepose received an A.B. and M.A. in neurophysiology from Brandeis University and completed the M.D.-Ph.D. program at the UCLA School of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Institute at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center and his fellowship training at Georgetown University Medical Center.