John Sheppard, MD, MMSc
Dr. John Sheppard is President of Virginia Eye Consultants, the leading sub-specialty academic referral Ophthalmology practice in coastal Virginia. He spearheaded the design and financing of a 34,000 square foot state of the art, interdisciplinary, integrated clinic, clinical research and surgery center which opened in 2005. He is founding COO of EyeRx Research, Inc., a pharmaceutical development company, and founder of ProVision-Network.com, a major buying group for Ophthalmologists and Optometrists. As an internationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmologic disease coupled with training in immunology and preclinical science, his background provides a broad base for development of ophthalmologic drugs and devices. He received the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award and he has served as an Associate and Mentor Examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology. By peer recommendation he has been honored by Best Doctors in America, in Virginia and in Norfolk.
Dr. Sheppard has participated as principal investigator in over 70 clinical research trials for major pharmaceutical companies and the FDA. He serves on the medical advisory boards for numerous pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and he has authored over 100 peer review abstracts, journal articles, and chapters. An acclaimed speaker, he has presented over 500 invited lectures and visiting professorships worldwide. Dr. Sheppard is at the forefront of the electronic publishing age as uveitis section editor for eMedicine.com as well as an editorial board member for EyeNet Magazine, by the AAO. Dr. Sheppard's clinical practice is among the busiest in the country, with over 1200 patients seen every month. He is a leading prescriber of numerous ocular medications for ocular surface, anterior segment, and inflammatory ocular conditions.
In 1989, Dr. Sheppard joined Virginia Eye Consultants and is now Professor of Ophthalmology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology at Eastern Virginia Medical School where he serves as Research Director of the Ophthalmology Residency Program. As Clinical Director of the Thomas R. Lee Center for Ocular Pharmacology, he coordinates clinical trials, and is instrumental in translational research. Virginia Eye Consultants is currently conducting 13 prospective randomized clinical and laboratory trials, many designed in house specifically for pharmaceutical companies, encompassing uveitis, infectious disease, ocular surface disorders, ocular nutrition, and microsurgery. During a period of major sociopolitical changes in transplantation reimbursement, he was Chairman of the Board of the Lions Eye Bank of Eastern Virginia.
Dr. Sheppard received a Masters degree in Medical Science and an MD from Brown University on a full Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship. After an internship in pediatrics at the University of Virginia, he spent four years with the U.S. Navy as 6th Fleet Medical Officer and Chief of Family Practice. He completed his Ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Eye and Ear Institute and a 30 month fellowship in corneal diseases, uveitis, third world blindness, and ocular immunology at the Proctor Research Foundation at the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently the principal investigator for 3 major peer reviewed competitively funded grants for uveitis, corneal transplantation immunology, and for dry eye. Dr. Sheppard enjoys serving on the Eastern Virginia Medical School Development Committee, the College of William & Mary Steering Committee, the Knights of Columbus, and the Virginia Eye Foundation. He and his wife Clelia and their four children live near Cape Charles, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay.
