John Kempen

John H. Kempen, M.D, M.H.S., M.P.H., Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of the Ocular Inflammation Service at the Scheie Eye Institute/Department of Ophthalmology, and the Director of Ophthalmic Epidemiology at the Center for Preventive Ophthalmology and Biostatistics. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Epidemiology, and as Director of the Public Health Ophthalmology program of the Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute/Department of Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University.  He served as an epidemiological expert on two major AHRQ-funded evidence-based review projects at the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Center, regarding anesthesia for cataract surgery and combined surgery for glaucoma and cataract.

Dr. Kempen has doctoral training in epidemiology, and masters-level training in biostatistics and public health.  He has completed research fellowships in clinical trials and in preventive ophthalmology.  He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and a member of the American Uveitis Society, the International Uveitis Study Group, the Society for Clinical Trials, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.  He is a member of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council, and has numerous publications in the leading journals of his specialty.

Dr. Kempen has extensive experience in large-scale prospective and retrospective cohort studies and clinical trials.  He holds an R01 grant funding his conduct of the Complications of Immunosuppressive Therapy for Eye Diseases Cohort Study, a multicenter study of approximately 15,000 patients with inflammatory eye diseases followed for up to 25 years for mortality using National Death Index linkage.  He is national vice-chairman of the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) trial, a national study comparing fluocinolone acetonide implant therapy to systemic therapy for treatment of intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis.  He served as director of the Johns Hopkins CMV Retinitis Cohort Study for approximately 6 years.  In addition, he has had leadership roles in the Studies of Ocular Complications of AIDS Research Group, a network studying ocular complications of HIV/AIDS for 8 years.  He co-coordinated the Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group, combining data from population-based studies of the prevalence of major blinding eye diseases to generate national prevalence estimates for policy and research applications.  He is following up this work as a participant in a group estimating the costs incurred by blindness and visual impairment as a result of these diseases.

In addition to these research activities, Dr. Kempen is a clinically active ophthalmologist who serves as the regional specialist in Ocular Inflammation in the Delaware Valley.

Assistant Professor
Phone: 215-615-1503
Fax: 215-615-1531
E-mail: john.kempen@uphs.upenn.edu