George J. Harocopos, MD

Associate Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

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Additional Titles

  • Associate Professor, Pathology & Immunology
  • Director, Ophthalmic Pathology
  • Director of Ophthalmic Surgery and Chairman of the Laser Safety Committee, John Cochran VA Medical Center, Saint Louis, Missouri
 

Education

  • B.A. in Classics (Greek): Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1995)
  • M.D.: Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (2000)
  • Internship-Internal Medicine: St. Mary’s Health Center, St. Louis, Missouri (2004)
  • Residency-Ophthalmology: Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2005)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Ophthalmology

Recognition

Undergraduate
Graduated Summa cum Laude, Harvard University
Junior Phi Beta Kappa
Smyth Prize for Outstanding Senior Thesis in Classics
Harvard National Scholar, John Harvard Scholar (four years)
Detur Prize (top 64 Freshman scholars)
Samuel Eliot Morison Scholar (Junior year)
Cora Lyman Warren Scholar, Class of 1936 Scholar (Junior & Senior years)

Medical School
Grandis Family Scholar (four years)
Virginia State Council of Higher Education Scholar (first year)
Foundations of Clinical Medicine Teaching Award (fourth year)

Residency
Jay S. Pepose Young Investigator Research Award, 2002
Rosenbaum Research Award, 2003

Chief Residency/Fellowship
Golden Apple Teaching Award
Inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society

Faculty
Teacher of the Year, Academic Faculty, Ophthalmology, 2007-2008
American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award 2016

Clinical Interests

  • Ocular Pathology

Publications

Bibliography (Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts):

1. Potts JD, Harocopos GJ, and Beebe DC. Identification of receptor tyrosine kinases in the embryonic chicken lens. Curr Eye Res 1993; 12(8): 759-763.
2. Harocopos GJ, Alvares KM, Kolker AE, and Beebe DC. Human age-related cataract and lens epithelial cell death. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 1998; 39(13): 2696-2706.
3. Melissas J, Christodoulakis M, Schoretsanitis G, Harocopos G, et al. Staple-line disruption following vertical banded gastroplasty. Obes Surg 1998; 8(1): 15-20.
4. deBree E, Tsiftsis D, Christodoulakis M, Harocopos G, et al. Splenic abscess: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Acta Chir Belg 1998; 98(5): 199-202.
5. Harocopos GJ, Shui YB, McKinnon M, Holekamp NM, Gordon MO, and Beebe DC. Importance of vitreous liquefaction in age-related cataract.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2004; 45(1): 77-85.
6. Hsu HY, Phillips NJ, and Harocopos GJ. Secondary amyloidosis in the hydrops lesion of a patient with pellucid marginal degeneration. Cornea 2007; 26(8): 992-994.
7. Holekamp NM, Harocopos GJ, Shui YB, and Beebe DC. Myopia and axial length contribute to vitreous liquefaction and nuclear cataract. Arch Ophthalmol 2008; 126(5): 744.
8. Hsu HY, Lee SF, Hartstein ME, and Harocopos GJ. Clostridium perfringens keratitis leading to blinding panophthalmitis. Cornea 2008; 27(10): 1200-1203.
9. Graue-Hernandez EO, Harocopos GJ, Bradley JC, et al. The Castroviejo square graft: wound healing after 51 years. Cornea 2009; 28(3): 345-347.
10. Lim P, Bradley JC, Harocopos GJ, et al. Histopathology of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty using pneumatic dissection: the “big-bubble” technique. Cornea 2009; 28(5): 579-582.
11. Almony A, Blinder KJ, Harocopos GJ, et al. Histologic and immunohistochemical features of an epiretinal membrane overlying a combined hamartoma of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium. Retinal Cases and Brief Reports 2009; X(X): 1-3.
12. Bradley JC, Harocopos GJ, Smith ME, and Mannis MJ. Ocular surface squamous neoplasia in xeroderma pigmentosum: a clinical-histopathologic report. Vision Pan-America 2009; VIII(4): 238-241.
13. Edelstein SL, Huang AJW, Harocopos GJ, and Waltman SR. Genotype of lattice corneal dystrophy (R124C mutation in TGBI) in a patient presenting with features of Avellino corneal dystrophy. Cornea 2010; 29(6): 698-700.
14. McClelland CM, Harocopos GJ, and Custer PL. Periorbital edema secondary to imatinib mesylate. Clinical Ophthalmology 2010; 4: 427-431.
15. De Becker I, Summers CG, Kaye V, Traboulsi EI, Schoenfield L, Markowitz G, Lueder GT, and Harocopos GJ. Periocular granuloma annulare in four children. J AAPOS 2010; 14(3): 280-282.
16. Patel DA, Chang, S-H, Harocopos GJ, et al. Granular and lattice deposits in corneal dystrophy caused by R124C mutation of TGFBIp. Cornea 2010; 29(11): 1215-1222.
17. Patel DA, Harocopos GJ, Chang S-H, et al. Novel CHST6 gene mutations in 2 unrelated cases of macular corneal dystrophy. Cornea 2011; 30(6): 664-669.
18. Sheybani A, Harocopos GJ, and Rao PK. Immunohistochemical study of epiretinal membranes in patients with uveitis. Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection 2012; 2(4): 243-248.
19. Onken MD, Worley LA, Char DH, et al., Harocopos GJ, and Harbour JW. Collaborative ocular oncology group report no. 1: prospective validation of a multi-gene prognostic assay in uveal melanoma. Ophthalmology 2012; 119(8): 1596-1603.
20. Couch SM, Harocopos GJ, and Holds JB. Orbital silicone oil granuloma discovered during enucleation. Archives of Ophthalmology 2012; 130(8): 1083-1085.
21. Mannis TE, Mannis MJ, Harocopos GJ, et al. Recurrent invasive squamous carcinoma of the ocular surface requiring penetrating therapeutic sclero-keratoplasty. Vision Pan-America 2012; XI(4): 113-116.
22. Doshi RR, Harocopos GJ, Schwab IR, and Cunningham ET, Jr. The spectrum of postoperative scleral necrosis. Survey of Ophthalmology 2013; 58(6): 620-633.
23. Lee CS, Harocopos GJ, Kraus CL, Lee AY, Van Stavern GP, Couch SM, and Rao PK. IgG4-associated orbital and ocular inflammation. Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection 2015 May 29;5:15;eCollection 2015.
24. Sheybani A, Nguyen AT, Harocopos G, Lubniewski AJ, and Huang AJ. A masquerader? Paecilomyces must be distinguished from Penicillium in fungal keratitis: a report of two contrasting cases. BMJ Case Reports 2015 Aug 18;2015.
25. Hsu KM, Chang S-H, Brothers W, Edelstein SL, Hsu HY, and Harocopos GJ. Indications for keratoplasty at three academic centers from 2002-2012. Eye & Contact Lens 2015 Dec 9 [Epub ahead of print].
26. Shousha MA, Yoo SH, Edelstein S, Council M, Shah RS, Abernathy J, Schmitz Z, Stuart P, Bentivegna R, Yin X, Harocopos GJ, Wang J, and Perez VL. In vivo characteristics of corneal endothelium/Descemet’s membrane complex for the diagnosis of corneal graft rejection. Am J Ophthalmol 2016. In press.
27. Mesa R, Tyagi M, Harocopos G, Vollman D, and Bassnett S. Somatic variants in the human lens epithelium: a preliminary assessment. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2016. In press.

Textbooks– contributing author:

(See above under “Editorial Responsibilities,” [1] – [3].)
Note: The Washington Manual of Surgical Pathology, 2nd edition, was awarded the 2013 British Medical Association Book Award First Prize in Pathology.

Publications– other:

Knopf HLS, Carter K, Feibel RM, and Harocopos GJ. Postoperative trauma. Comprehensive Ophthalmology Update 2002; 3(2): 89-90.

Abstracts:

1. Harocopos GJ, Shui Y-B, McKinnon M, Holekamp NM, and Gordon MO. The importance of vitreous liquefaction in age-related nuclear cataract. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2002; 43: ARVO Meeting Abstract 1525.

2. Lim P, Bradley JC, Harocopos GJ, Smith ME, and Mannis MJ. Histopathology of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty using the “big-bubble” technique. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2008; 49: ARVO Meeting Abstract 1968.

3. Huang AJ, Patel DA, Harocopos GJ, Chang S-H, and Thang DH. Sub-epithelial TGFBI deposits in Avellino corneal dystrophy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2009; 50: ARVO Meeting Abstract 4312.

4. Chang S-H, Patel DA, Harocopos, GJ, Thang DH, and Huang AJW. Secondary hyalinosis/amyloidosis in macular corneal dystrophy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2009; 50: ARVO Meeting Abstract 4313.

5. Straiko MD, Harocopos GJ, Terry MA, Stoeger C, and Shamie N. Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK): OCT and histologic assessment of dissection plane depth. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2010; 51: ARVO Meeting Abstract 738.

6. Vieira A, Forward K, Yu A, Kim C, Harocopos G, and Schwab IR. In vivo silk fibroin biocompatibility. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2010; 51: ARVO Meeting Abstract 4872.

7. Shousha MA, Shah RS, Stuart P, Council M, Edelstein S, Bentivegna R, Yin X, Harocopos G, Yoo SH, and Perez VL. Diagnostic performance of Descemet’s membrane thickness (DMT) vs. central corneal thickness (CCT) in active cornea graft rejection. AAO 2014 Meeting Abstract (paper presentation).

8. Pham C, Couch SM, and Harocopos GJ. Extrascleral tumor extension associated with localized scleral melt following plaque brachytherapy for uveal melanoma: histopathologic findings. ARVO Meeting Abstract 2016.

Assistant
Billie Charlton
314-273-1742
billie.charlton@wustl.edu
BJCIH Room 3405