Faculty

Biographical Info

Sees patients at:

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

Schedule an Appointment

Millennium Park Eye Center (MPEC)
30 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 410
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone:  (312) 996-2020

“Dr. Vajaranant was exceptional. I felt very confident of her skills.” comment from PatientExperience.net

Dr. Vajaranant is nationally recognized as an expert clinician and clinician-scientist. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award and three Clinician-Scientist Awards from the American Glaucoma Society. She has secured research funding from the National Institute of Health since 2009. At present, she is the principal investigator of the National Eye Institute funded project, entitled Optic Nerve Aging and Glaucoma and site principal investigator of multicenter drug trials. In addition, she has been listed as one of Best Doctors in America, America’s Top Doctors, and Super Doctors. She directed the Ophthalmology Residency Program from 2007–2009, and became Director of the Glaucoma Service in 2010.

News

Minimally invasive procedure helps patients with glaucoma

Education

MD—Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Research Fellow in Low Vision Research—Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, University of Illinois at Chicago
Residency in Ophthalmology—Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
Clinical and Research Fellowship in Glaucoma—Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary

Selected Honors and Awards

Chicago Super Doctors, 2013
Chicago Top Doctors, 2012, 2014
America’s Top Doctors, 2010 – present
Best Doctors in America, 2009 – present
The American Glaucoma Society–Thom J. Zimmerman, MD, PhD, Memorial Award
supported by Valeant Ophthalmics, 2013
American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, 2011

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

Selected Publications

I. Glaucoma Epidemiology

1.    Vajaranant TS, Wu S, Torres M, Varma R.A 40-year forecast of the demographic shift in primary open-angle glaucoma in the United States. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 May 4;53(5):2464-6. Print 2012.
2.    Vajaranant TS, Wu S, Torres M, Varma R. The Changing Face of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in the United States: Demographic and Geographic Changes from 2011 to 2050. Am J Ophthalmol. 2012 Aug;154(2):303-314.e3. Epub 2012 Apr 27.
3.    Varma R, Vajaranant TS, Burkemper B, Wu S, Torres M, Hsu C, Choudhury F, McKean-Cowdin R. Visual Impairment and Blindness in Adults in the United States: Demographic and Geographic Variations From 2015 to 2050. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Jul 1;134(7):802-9

II. Sex hormone-related pathophysiology of glaucoma

1.    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. Review.
2.    Vajaranant TS, Pasquale LR. Estrogen deficiency accelerates aging of the optic nerve. Menopause. 2012 Mar 12.
3.    Vajaranant TS, Grossardt BR, Maki PM, Pasquale LR, Sit SM, Shuster LT, Roca WA. The risk of glaucoma after early bilateral oophorectomy. Menopause 2014 Sep 2.
4.    Vajaranant TS, Maki PM, Lee Anne, Pasquale LR, Kim H, Haan MN. The effect of hormone therapy on intraocular pressure in a randomized hormone trial: the Women’s Health Initiative Sight Exam Study Am J Ophthalmol (in press) Am J Ophthalmol May;165:115-24.

III. Glaucoma Management after endothelial keratoplasty

1.    Vajaranant TS, Price MO, Price FW, Wilensky JT, Edward DP. Intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements following Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty. Am J Ophthalmol. 2008 May; 145(5): 780–786.
2.    Vajaranant TS, Price MO, Price FW, Gao W, Wilensky JT, Edward DP. Visual acuity and intraocular pressure after Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty in eyes with and without pre-existing glaucoma. Ophthalmology. 2009 Sep; 116 (9): 1644–50. Epub 2009 July 29.
3.    Jivrajka R. Schultz KL, Price MO, Price FQ. Wilensky JT, Edward DP, Vajaranant TS. Ocular pulse amplitude in patients with descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty. J Glaucoma. Aug[Epub ahead of print]

IV. Glaucoma Management after keratoprosthesis

1.    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 Opthalmol. 2010 Nov, 128(11): 1480–2.
2.    Kapamajian MA, de la Cruz J, Hallak JA, Vajaranant TS. Correlation between corneal and scleral pneumatonometry measurements in adults with healthy eyes. Am J Ophthalmol 2013 Nov;156(5):902-906.
3.    Kang JJ, Alleman N, Vajaranant TS, de la Cruz J, Cortina MS. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography for evaluation of iris characteristics following Boston keratoprosthesis. PLoS One. 2013 Aug 5;8(8):e70673
4.    Huh, ES, Aref AA, Vajaranant TS, de la Cruz J, Chau FY, Cortina MS. Outcomes of Pars Plana Glaucoma Drainage Implant in Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis Surgery. J Glaucoma. 2014 Jan;23(1):e39-44.

V. Clinical utility of multifocal electroretinography

1.    Vajaranant TS, Seiple W, Szlyk JP, Fishman GA. Detection of mosaic retinal dysfunction in carriers of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa with the multifocal electroretinogram. Ophthalmology. 2002 June; 109 (3): 560–8.
2.    Haq F, Vajarananat TS, Szlyk JP, Pulido JS. Sequential multifocal electroretinogram findings in a patient with Purtscher’s like retinopathy. Am J Ophthalmol. 2002 July: 134 (1): 125–8.
3.    Vajaranant, TS, Szlyk JP, Fishman GA, Gieser JP, Seiple W. Localized retinal dysfunction in central serous chorioretinopathy as measured using the multifocal electroretinogram. Ophthalmology. 2002 July; 109 (7): 1243–50.
4.    Seiple W, Vajaranant TS, Szlyk JP, Holopigian K, Paliga J, Clemen C, Badawi D, Carr RE. Multifocal electroretinography as a function of age: The importance of normative values in older adults. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2003 April; 44 (4): 1783–92.