Christopher Girkin, MD
Enriched profileInterim Chair and Professor, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology; Viterbi Family Chair of Optic Nerve Biology · University of California San Diego
Christopher Girkin is Interim Chair and Professor, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology; Viterbi Family Chair of Optic Nerve Biology at University of California San Diego. OpenAlex indexes 505 publications with 14,176 citations (h-index 63); ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3 registered studies with this person as an investigator. By OpenAlex citation count, this profile ranks in the top 5% of Ophthalmology profiles in the findmyKOL directory.
Data verified 14 Aug 2026
Overview
Updated 15 Oct 2026
Christopher Girkin, MD, is Interim Chair and Professor, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at University of California San Diego, Shiley Eye Institute / Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology. The public record shows 505 publications with 14,176 citations (h-index 63), centered on Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy / DME. It also documents an investigator role on 3 registered clinical trials, industry payments reported by 7 companies, 1 NIH-funded awards (2025–2026).
- Top research focus: Glaucoma
- 3 registered trials on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Open Payments reporting from 7 companies
Generated from the cited public record · current as of 15 Oct 2026. Every fact links its source below.
Indications focus
from trials led + research topicsResearch focus
OpenAlex concept fingerprintDrugs & molecules
across trials, industry payments and publicationsWorks with
trial sponsors and companies reporting paymentsScholarship
indexed output and impact (OpenAlex)Distinct works indexed by OpenAlex, matched via ORCID.
Total citations across indexed works.
Hirsch index, productivity × impact (OpenAlex).
Clinical & industry
trials, payments and federal fundingContact
The practice address and phone this provider lists in the federal NPPES (CMS) registry.
Practice address
Telephone
Practice address and telephone from the federal NPPES registry.
Sign in to view contact details →Clinical trials
Updated 15 Oct 2026
Listed as an investigator on 3 registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov. The most recent:
- Providing Financial Incentives to Improve Adherence to Referral Eye Care Visits
Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Data Collection Study
Sponsor: Heidelberg Engineering GmbH
- Determinants of Compliance With Glaucoma Therapy
Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Industry payments
Updated 15 Oct 2026
7 companies reported payments to CMS in program years 2021–2025. These are public disclosures, not judgments. The latest:
- Topcon Healthcare, Inc.Program year20253 payments
- ABBVIE INC.Program year20253 payments
- Heidelberg Engineering, Inc.Program year20251 payment
Medicare prescribing footprint (2024)
The drugs this prescriber writes for Medicare patients, grouped by drug class and therapeutic area. Every percentage is a share of their total prescribing, so you can see what they prescribe most. These are proportions, not patient counts or dollar amounts. No condition is inferred: the claims record what was prescribed, never why.
Sensory organs
95.5%Prostaglandin Analog44.2%Latanoprost91%Lumigan7%Tafluprost2%Travoprost1%Part D<11 patientsCarbonic Anhydrase Inhibitor27%Dorzolamide-Timolol57%Dorzolamide Hcl31%Simbrinza6%Brinzolamide6%Part D<11 patients+ 3 more classes in this area
Cardiovascular
2.8%Beta blocker2.8%Timolol Maleate100%Part D≥20 patientsMusculoskeletal
1.7%Cyclooxygenase Inhibitor1.7%Ketorolac Tromethamine100%Part D≥26 patients
Drug classes come from the WHO ATC and U.S. National Library of Medicine (RxClass) classifications; prescribing counts come from the CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers file. Each drug is counted once, under its primary class. Medicare fee-for-service only, so no Medicare Advantage, commercial, or pediatric prescribing is included. CMS publishes this data about 17 months after the fact.
NIH funding
Updated 15 Oct 2026
1 NIH research award on record, funded 2025–2026 per NIH RePORTER. The latest:
- RFA-DP-24-081 Implementing AI-based Glaucoma Screening within Federally Qualified Health Centers
University of Alabama at Birmingham
FY2026$750,000U01DP006827 - The mechanotranscriptome of the optic nerve head following acute experimental ocular hypertension in living human eyes
University of California, San Diego
FY2026$523,711R01EY035053 - The mechanotranscriptome of the optic nerve head following acute experimental ocular hypertension in living human eyes
University of California, San Diego
FY2025$524,518R01EY035053
Publications
Matched to this physician's OpenAlex author record; most-cited works shown first.
- Detecting Glaucoma from Fundus Photographs Using Deep Learning without Convolutions
Ophthalmology Science
2022 - Transient Intraocular Pressure Fluctuations: Source, Magnitude, Frequency, and Associated Mechanical Energy
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
2019
Online presence
Updated 15 Oct 2026
This person's own public accounts first, then places where others mention them. Two different things, listed separately.
Owned accounts
public accounts run by this person- ResearchGate
researchgate.net/profile/Christopher-Girkin
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →researchgate.net ↗
Mentions by others
where others cite or feature them- LinkedIn
linkedin.com/posts/uab-callahan-eye_cynthia-owsley-phd-andchris-girkin-md-activity-7237105126350426112-6hpE
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →linkedin.com ↗ - LinkedIn
linkedin.com/posts/uab-callahan-eye_uab-ophthalmology-researchers-christopher-activity-7217518707579744258-5DYy
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →linkedin.com ↗ - LinkedIn
linkedin.com/posts/uc-san-diego-shiley-eye-center_welcome-seifaculty-glaucomacare-activity-7259595534682775553-NeLn
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →linkedin.com ↗ - YouTube
youtube.com/shorts/014jZJu3mLk
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →youtube.com ↗ - Journals.elsevier.com
Editorial Board, American Journal of Ophthalmology
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →journals.elsevier.com ↗ - Uab.edu
Editorial board member, Journal of Glaucoma and Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (per secondary summary)
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗ - Facebook
UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute welcomed SEI alum Christopher Girkin, MD, MSPH to faculty (Facebook institutional announcement)
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →m.facebook.com ↗
We list an account only when the public record ties it to this person. verified means we've confirmed the match in more than one place; provisional means it looks right but we're still confirming.
Background & recognition
Updated 15 Oct 2026
Credentials, appointments and honors, newest first, each linked to the public source it came from.
Education
degrees and training on record- MD
University of Arkansas
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗ - verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
- Residency
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗ - Fellowship
Neuro-ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗ - Fellowship
Glaucoma, Shiley Eye Institute, UC San Diego (Heed Glaucoma Fellow, Hamilton Glaucoma Center)
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
Editorial & leadership roles
journal and society appointments- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →profiles.ucsd.edu ↗
- Former Department Chair
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2012-2022); Founder, UAB Glaucoma Division
1999verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →profiles.ucsd.edu ↗ - Viterbi Family Chair of Optic Nerve Biology
UC San Diego
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
Awards & honors
honors on the public record- provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗
- provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗
- provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗
- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
- provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗
- provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →uab.edu ↗
- Distinguished Alumni Award
UAB Department of Ophthalmology
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗ - verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
Secondary affiliations
appointments beyond the home institution- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →profiles.ucsd.edu ↗
Media & interviews
press, podcasts and appearances- Community Lecture Series speaker
"Dr. Christopher A. Girkin", Shiley Eye Institute public lecture
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →shileyeye.ucsd.edu ↗
Every item links to where we found it. verified means we've confirmed it in more than one place; provisional means we found it and are still confirming.
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