Benjamin Yixing Xu, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology (Clinical Scholar)

Director of Inpatient Ophthalmology Service

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Overview

Dr. Xu attended Yale University where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Columbia University where he was part of the NIH-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program. He completed a well-received thesis studying how the brain uses eye position signals to coordinate accurate eye movements. Dr. Xu completed his residency in ophthalmology at the LAC+USC Medical Center and USC Roski Eye Institute, where he served as Chief Resident and was recognized for his academic and teaching achievements. He completed his glaucoma fellowship with Dr. Robert Weinreb at the UCSD Shiley Eye Institute and Hamilton Glaucoma Center.

Dr. Xu’s current research focus is developing novel interventions to enhance glaucoma care and prevent glaucoma-related vision loss. Dr. Xu’s research combines non-invasive ocular imaging and artificial intelligence to develop precise and convenient tools to detect and evaluate patients with or at risk for glaucoma. Dr. Xu studies the impact of glaucoma on diverse populations in the United States, using big data to identify and elucidate disparities in glaucoma care. He also uses data from NIH-funded population-based epidemiological studies, including the Chinese American Eye Study (CHES) and Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), to study the prevalence and impact of glaucoma in the United States. Dr. Xu has a particular interest in studying primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), a visually devastating form of glaucoma.

Awards

  • Newsweek Magazine: America’s Best Eye Doctors, 2021-2023
  • University of Southern California: USC Ophthalmology Attending Teaching Award, 2019
  • University of Southern California: USC Ophthalmology Resident Teaching Award, 2016
  • Columbia University: Dr. Alfred P. Steiner Dean’s Day Reseach Award, 2011
  • Columbia University: Columbia University Vision Sciences NEI Training Grant, 2008-2009
  • Columbia University: NIH Medical Scientist Training Program Training Grant, 2004-2008

Publications

  • Telemedicine in Eye Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of Patient & Physician Perspectives medRxiv. 2024 Oct 27. . View in PubMed
  • The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD): NIH collaboration to understand the impacts of prenatal and early life experiences on brain development Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Oct; 69:101423. . View in PubMed
  • Relationship Between Glaucoma and Chronic Stress Quantified by Allostatic Load Score in the All of Us Research Program Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 Sep 11. . View in PubMed
  • Novel hyperparallel optical coherence tomography for angle closure assessment: comparison with swept-source OCT and gonioscopy Br J Ophthalmol. 2024 Aug 30. . View in PubMed
  • Federated Learning in Glaucoma: A Comprehensive Review and Future Perspectives Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2024 Aug 29. . View in PubMed
  • Expert-Level Detection of Referable Glaucoma from Fundus Photographs in a Safety Net Population: The AI and Teleophthalmology in Los Angeles Initiative medRxiv. 2024 Aug 26. . View in PubMed
  • Gap Analysis of Glaucoma Examination Concept Representations within Standard Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2024 Aug 13. . View in PubMed
  • Comparing the Accuracy and Readability of Glaucoma-related Question Responses and Educational Materials by Google and ChatGPT J Curr Glaucoma Pract. 2024 Jul-Sep; 18(3):110-116. . View in PubMed
  • Investigating the determinants of iridolenticular contact area: a novel parameter for angle closure Br J Ophthalmol. 2024 Jun 20; 108(7):940-945. . View in PubMed
  • Comparative Single Vesicle Analysis of Aqueous Humor Extracellular Vesicles before and after Radiation in Uveal Melanoma Eyes Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 30; 25(11). . View in PubMed
  • Automated expert-level scleral spur detection and quantitative biometric analysis on the ANTERION anterior segment OCT system Br J Ophthalmol. 2024 May 21; 108(5):702-709. . View in PubMed
  • Long-Term Risk and Prediction of Progression in Primary Angle Closure Suspect JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024 Mar 01; 142(3):216-223. . View in PubMed
  • Advances and Challenges in Wearable Glaucoma Diagnostics and Therapeutics Bioengineering (Basel). 2024 Jan 30; 11(2). . View in PubMed
  • Patterns and Disparities in Recorded Gonioscopy During Initial Glaucoma Evaluations in the United States Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 08; 264:90-98. . View in PubMed
  • Practice Patterns and Sociodemographic Disparities in the Clinical Care of Anatomical Narrow Angles in the United States Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 05; 261:66-75. . View in PubMed
  • Prevalence and Risk Factors of Blindness Among Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma Patients in the United States: An IRIS Registry Analysis Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 03; 259:131-140. . View in PubMed
  • Assessment of angle closure disease in the age of artificial intelligence: A review Prog Retin Eye Res. 2024 Jan; 98:101227. . View in PubMed
  • Barriers to Extracting and Harmonizing Glaucoma Testing Data: Gaps, Shortcomings, and the Pursuit of FAIRness Ophthalmol Sci. 2024; 4(6):100621. . View in PubMed
  • Multicentre analysis of nucleic acid quantification using aqueous humour liquid biopsy in uveal melanoma: implications for clinical testing Can J Ophthalmol. 2023 Nov 27. . View in PubMed
  • Rethinking Prophylactic Laser Peripheral Iridotomy in Primary Angle-Closure Suspects: A Review Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2023 Nov-Dec; 6(6):657-667. . View in PubMed
  • Angle closure extent, anterior segment dimensions and intraocular pressure Br J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jul; 107(7):927-934. . View in PubMed
  • Effectiveness of Glaucoma Screening and Factors Associated with Follow-up Adherence among Glaucoma Suspects in a Safety-Net Teleretinal Screening Program Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2023 May-Jun; 6(3):247-254. . View in PubMed
  • Rates and Patterns of Diagnostic Conversion from Anatomical Narrow Angle to Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma in the United States Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2023 Mar-Apr; 6(2):169-176. . View in PubMed
  • Role of Static and Dynamic Ocular Biometrics Measured in the Dark and Light as Risk Factors for Angle Closure Progression Am J Ophthalmol. 2023 12; 256:27-34. . View in PubMed
  • Optimal number and orientation of anterior segment OCT images to measure ocular biometric parameters in angle closure eyes: the Chinese American Eye Study Br J Ophthalmol. 2023 06; 107(6):795-801. . View in PubMed
  • Generalisability and performance of an OCT-based deep learning classifier for community-based and hospital-based detection of gonioscopic angle closure Br J Ophthalmol. 2023 04; 107(4):511-517. . View in PubMed
  • Simultaneous Assessment of the Whole Eye Biomechanics Using Ultrasonic Elastography IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2023 04; 70(4):1310-1317. . View in PubMed
  • Anterior segment biometric measurements explain misclassifications by a deep learning classifier for detecting gonioscopic angle closure Br J Ophthalmol. 2023 03; 107(3):349-354. . View in PubMed
  • Refractive Error and Anterior Chamber Depth as Risk Factors in Primary Angle Closure Disease: The Chinese American Eye Study J Glaucoma. 2023 04 01; 32(4):257-264. . View in PubMed
  • Classification of Angle Closure Severity by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of Ocular Biometrics in the Dark and Light Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023 09 01; 12(9):4. . View in PubMed
  • Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Roles of Myopia and Ocular Biometrics as Risk Factors for Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2023 06 01; 64(7):4. . View in PubMed
  • Biometric Risk Factors for Angle Closure Progression After Laser Peripheral Iridotomy JAMA Ophthalmol. 2023 06 01; 141(6):516-524. . View in PubMed
  • A Mechanistic Model of Aqueous Humor Flow to Study Effects of Angle Closure on Intraocular Pressure Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023 01 03; 12(1):16. . View in PubMed
  • Identifying, Understanding, and Addressing Disparities in Glaucoma Care in the United States Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023 10 03; 12(10):18. . View in PubMed
  • Racial and Sociodemographic Disparities in the Detection of Narrow Angles before Detection of Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma in the United States Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2022 Jul-Aug; 5(4):388-395. . View in PubMed
  • High-Frequency Ultrasound Elastography to Assess the Nonlinear Elastic Properties of the Cornea and Ciliary Body IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2022 09; 69(9):2621-2629. . View in PubMed
  • Intrasession Repeatability and Intersession Reproducibility of Macular Vessel Parameters on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Glaucomatous and Non-Glaucomatous Eyes Curr Eye Res. 2022 07; 47(7):1068-1076. . View in PubMed
  • Visual Field Loss Impacts Vision-Specific Quality of Life by Race and Ethnicity: The Multiethnic Ophthalmology Cohorts of California Study Ophthalmology. 2022 06; 129(6):668-678. . View in PubMed
  • Ocular Biometric Determinants of Dark-to-Light Change in Angle Width: The Chinese American Eye Study Am J Ophthalmol. 2022 05; 237:183-192. . View in PubMed
  • Ocular Biometric Risk Factors for Progression of Primary Angle Closure Disease: The Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial Ophthalmology. 2022 03; 129(3):267-275. . View in PubMed
  • Assessing accommodative presbyopic biometric changes of the entire anterior segment using single swept-source OCT image acquisitions Eye (Lond). 2022 01; 36(1):119-128. . View in PubMed
  • Detection of Nonglaucomatous Macula Findings With Ganglion Cell Analysis Printouts vs Full Macular Cube Scans JAMA Ophthalmol. 2022 10 01; 140(10):1002-1005. . View in PubMed
  • Response to Comment on Gange et alIncidence of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy and Other Neovascular Sequelae at 5 Years Following Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2021;44:2518-2526. Diabetes Care. 2022 03 01; 45(3):e61-e62. . View in PubMed
  • Wedge Defects on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of the Peripapillary Retina in Glaucoma: Prevalence and Associated Clinical Factors J Glaucoma. 2022 04 01; 31(4):242-249. . View in PubMed
  • 5 by 4. 5?mm Peripapillary Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Scans in Glaucoma and Non-Glaucoma Eyes. J Glaucoma. 2022 09 01; 31(9):773-782. . View in PubMed
  • Age-Related Changes in Dynamic Iris Behavior Assessed Using a Programmable Closed-Loop Iris Control System Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2022 11 01; 11(11):9. . View in PubMed
  • Surgical Outcomes of Transposition Surgery for the Correction of Large-Angle Strabismus J Neuroophthalmol. 2021 Dec 01; 41(4):e806-e814. . View in PubMed
  • Differences in Ocular Biometric Measurements among Subtypes of Primary Angle Closure Disease: The Chinese American Eye Study Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2021 Mar-Apr; 4(2):224-231. . View in PubMed
  • Radiomics signature based on computed tomography images for the preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis at individual stations in gastric cancer: A multicenter study Radiother Oncol. 2021 12; 165:179-190. . View in PubMed
  • Incidence of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy and Other Neovascular Sequelae at 5 Years Following Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes Diabetes Care. 2021 11; 44(11):2518-2526. . View in PubMed
  • Steps to Measurement Floor of an Optical Microangiography Device in Glaucoma Am J Ophthalmol. 2021 11; 231:58-69. . View in PubMed
  • Intrasession repeatability and intersession reproducibility of peripapillary OCTA vessel parameters in non-glaucomatous and glaucomatous eyes Br J Ophthalmol. 2021 11; 105(11):1534-1541. . View in PubMed
  • Hemiretinal Asymmetry in Peripapillary Vessel Density in Healthy, Glaucoma Suspect, and Glaucoma Eyes Am J Ophthalmol. 2021 10; 230:156-165. . View in PubMed
  • Impact of Visual Field Loss on Vision-Specific Quality of Life in African Americans: The African American Eye Disease Study Am J Ophthalmol. 2021 09; 229:52-62. . View in PubMed
  • Anatomic Changes and Predictors of Angle Widening after Laser Peripheral Iridotomy: The Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial Ophthalmology. 2021 08; 128(8):1161-1168. . View in PubMed
  • Glaucoma Expert-Level Detection of Angle Closure in Goniophotographs With Convolutional Neural Networks: The Chinese American Eye Study Am J Ophthalmol. 2021 06; 226:100-107. . View in PubMed
  • Rates of Eye Care and Diabetic Eye Disease among Insured Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Ophthalmol Retina. 2021 02; 5(2):160-168. . View in PubMed
  • Relationship Between Macular Vessel Density and Total Retinal Blood Flow in Primary Open-angle Glaucoma J Glaucoma. 2021 08 01; 30(8):666-671. . View in PubMed
  • Effect of Angle Narrowing on Sectoral Variation of Anterior Chamber Angle Width: The Chinese American Eye Study Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2020 Mar-Apr; 3(2):130-138. . View in PubMed
  • Ocular Biometric Determinants of Anterior Chamber Angle Width in Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study Am J Ophthalmol. 2020 12; 220:19-26. . View in PubMed
  • A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Subconjunctival Injection to Direct Scleral Application of Mitomycin C in Trabeculectomy Am J Ophthalmol. 2020 12; 220:45-52. . View in PubMed
  • Clinical Utility of Triplicate En Face Image Averaging for Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Glaucoma and Glaucoma Suspects J Glaucoma. 2020 09; 29(9):823-830. . View in PubMed
  • Vessel density and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness following acute primary angle closure Br J Ophthalmol. 2020 08; 104(8):1103-1108. . View in PubMed
  • Intradevice Repeatability and Interdevice Agreement of Ocular Biometric Measurements: A Comparison of Two Swept-Source Anterior Segment OCT Devices Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2020 08; 9(9):14. . View in PubMed
  • Deep Neural Network for Scleral Spur Detection in Anterior Segment OCT Images: The Chinese American Eye Study Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2020 03; 9(2):18. . View in PubMed
  • Age- and refraction-related changes in anterior segment anatomical structures measured by swept-source anterior segment OCT PLoS One. 2020; 15(10):e0240110. . View in PubMed
  • Surgical Management of Primary Angle-Closure Disease-Why Less Is More JAMA Ophthalmol. 2019 Oct 01; 137(10):1113-1114. . View in PubMed
  • Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography: Applications for Clinical Care and Scientific Research Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2019 MarchApril 01; 8(2):146-157. . View in PubMed
  • Differences in Anterior Chamber Angle Assessments Between Gonioscopy, EyeCam, and Anterior Segment OCT: The Chinese American Eye Study Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2019 Mar; 8(2):5. . View in PubMed
  • Deep Learning Classifiers for Automated Detection of Gonioscopic Angle Closure Based on Anterior Segment OCT Images Am J Ophthalmol. 2019 12; 208:273-280. . View in PubMed
  • Systemic Determinants of Peripapillary Vessel Density in Healthy African Americans: The African American Eye Disease Study Am J Ophthalmol. 2019 11; 207:240-247. . View in PubMed
  • Effect of Scan Size on Glaucoma Diagnostic Performance Using OCT Angiography En Face Images of the Radial Peripapillary Capillaries J Glaucoma. 2019 05; 28(5):465-472. . View in PubMed
  • Ocular Determinants of Peripapillary Vessel Density in Healthy African Americans: The African American Eye Disease Study Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019 08 01; 60(10):3368-3373. . View in PubMed
  • Quantitative Evaluation of Gonioscopic and EyeCam Assessments of Angle Dimensions Using Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018 Nov; 7(6):33. . View in PubMed
  • Correlation between Intraocular Pressure and Angle Configuration Measured by OCT: The Chinese American Eye Study Ophthalmol Glaucoma. 2018 Nov-Dec; 1(3):158-166. . View in PubMed
  • Diurnal Variation of Optical Coherence Tomography Measurements of Static and Dynamic Anterior Segment Parameters J Glaucoma. 2018 01; 27(1):16-21. . View in PubMed
  • Reproducibility and Agreement of Anterior Segment Parameter Measurements Obtained Using the CASIA2 and Spectralis OCT2 Optical Coherence Tomography Devices J Glaucoma. 2017 Nov; 26(11):974-979. . View in PubMed
  • Homocysteine and all-cause mortality in hypertensive adults without pre-existing cardiovascular conditions: Effect modification by MTHFR C677T polymorphism Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Feb; 96(8):e5862. . View in PubMed
  • Aqueous Angiography: Aqueous Humor Outflow Imaging in Live Human Subjects Ophthalmology. 2017 08; 124(8):1249-1251. . View in PubMed
  • Benefit of Measuring Anterior Segment Structures Using an Increased Number of Optical Coherence Tomography Images: The Chinese American Eye Study Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016 11 01; 57(14):6313-6319. . View in PubMed
  • The postsaccadic unreliability of gain fields renders it unlikely that the motor system can use them to calculate target position in space Neuron. 2012 Dec 20; 76(6):1201-9. . View in PubMed