Faculty

Biographical Info

Sees patients at:
Specialty Care Building (SCB)
Glaucoma Service
1009 S. Wood St.
Chicago, IL 60612

Schedule an Appointment

Dr. Wilensky’s contributions as a member of study groups and as a principal and co-investigator on basic science research grants sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NEI) have led to significant improvements in the surgical treatment of glaucoma. He has received continuous NEI-funding for more than 20 years. In addition, his clinical pharmacology research has advanced drug therapies for treating glaucoma. He has been named one of America’s Best Doctors every year since the list was first published in 1989. Dr. Wilensky joined the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1974 and served as Director of the Glaucoma Service for more than 30 years (1977 – 2011). He is board certified in ophthalmology.

Education

BA—Tulane University, New Orleans
MD—Tulane University
Residency—Tulane University Affiliated Hospitals
National Eye Institute Special Fellow, Glaucoma Center, Washington University at St. Louis

Selected Honors and Awards

Chicago Super Doctors, 2012 – 2013
Chicago’s Top Doctors, 2000, 2001
Best Doctors in America, 1989 – present
The 47th O’Brien Visiting Professor, Tulane University, 2012
American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award, 1995
American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, 1983

See a representative list of Dr. Wilensky’s published journal articles on PubMed.

Recent Publications

Roberts DK, Yang Y, Wilensky JT. Cataract surgery in African Americans with long anterior lens zonules. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2014 Apr 4. doi: 10.1111/ceo.12341. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24698504.

Jivrajka R, Schultz KL, Price MO, Price FW, Wilensky JT, Edward DP, Vajaranant TS. Ocular pulse amplitude in patients with descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty. J Glaucoma. 2014 Mar;23(3):142-4. doi: 10.1097/ IJG.0b013 e31826a96cd. PubMed PMID: 22922665.

Hu J, Bui KM, Patel KH, Kim H, Arruda JA, Wilensky JT, Vajaranant TS. Effect of hemodialysis on intraocular pressure and ocular perfusion pressure. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013 Dec;131(12):1525-31. doi: 10.1001/ jamaophthalmol.2013.5599. PubMed PMID: 24232671.

Roberts DK, Newman TL, Roberts MF, Wilensky JT. Remnants of the Anterior Tunica Vasculosa Lentis and Long Anterior Lens Zonules. J Glaucoma. 2013 May 23. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23708424.

Roberts DK, Ayyagari R, McCarthy B, Xie H, Davis F, Wilensky JT. Investigating ocular dimensions in African Americans with long anterior zonules. J Glaucoma. 2013 Jun-Jul;22(5):393-7. doi: 10.1097/ IJG.0b013e3182447d6c. PubMed PMID: 23722729; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3669522.

Schultz KL, Vajaranant TS, Suhr K, Wilensky JT, Tu EY. Surgical technique for  excisional bleb revision using a rotational conjunctival flap for a large conjunctival defect. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2013 Jan-Mar;20(1):98-101. doi: 10.4103/0974-9233.106409. PubMed PMID: 23580864; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3617541.

Roberts DK, Wilensky J. Long anterior lens zonules. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2012 Sep-Oct;40(7):764-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9071.2012.02787.x. Epub 2012 May 17. PubMed PMID: 22394479.

Roberts DK, Lukic A, Yang Y, Wilensky JT, Wernick MN. Multispectral diagnostic imaging of the iris in pigment dispersion syndrome. J Glaucoma. 2012 Aug;21(6):351-7. doi: 10.1097/IJG.0b013e3182120877. PubMed PMID: 21423031; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3153570.

Roberts DK, Yang Y, Lukic AS, Wilensky JT, Wernick MN. Quantification of pupil parameters in diseased and normal eyes with near infrared iris transillumination imaging. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2012 May-Jun;43(3):196-204. doi: 10.3928/15428877-20120301-02. Epub 2012 Mar 1. PubMed PMID: 22390965.

Vajaranant TS, Anderson RJ, Zelkha R, Zhang C, Wilensky JT, Edward DP, Shahidi M. The relationship between macular cell layer thickness and visual function in different stages of glaucoma. Eye (Lond). 2011 May;25(5):612-8. doi: 10.1038/eye.2011.17. Epub 2011 Feb 25. PubMed PMID: 21350568; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3093432.

Vajaranant TS, Blair MP, McMahon T, Wilensky JT, de la Cruz J. Special considerations for pars plana tube-shunt placement in Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis. Arch Ophthalmol. 2010 Nov;128(11):1480-2. doi: 10.1001/archophthalmol.2010.257. PubMed PMID: 21060051.

Vajaranant TS, Nayak S, Wilensky JT, Joslin CE. Gender and glaucoma: what we know and what we need to know. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2010 Mar;21(2):91-9. doi: 10.1097/ICU.0b013e3283360b7e. Review. PubMed PMID: 20051857.