Barbara Wirostko, MD, FARVO

Barbara Wirostko is a board-certified practicing glaucoma specialist holding a Clinical Adjunct Professor position at the University of Utah, in Ophthalmology at Moran Eye Center and in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Wirostko, a serial entrepreneur and strategic executive on ophthalmic drug development, is currently the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Qlaris Bio, a VC backed Biotech startup looking to develop ophthalmic therapeutics for unmet medical needs. She was previously the Chief Medical Officer of EyeGate Pharmaceuticals following its acquisition of Jade Therapeutics where Dr. Wirostko was Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer spearheading the strategy, providing oversight and guidance on operations for the preclinical and clinical development of the unique hyaluronic acid, Ocular Bandage Gel (OBG), for human use. For Jade Therapeutics, Dr Wirostko received upwards of 3 M in SBIR funding as the Principle Investigator for the OBG polymer from the Dept of Defense and National Science Foundation. Prior to Jade, she served as the Chief Medical Officer of Altheos, a glaucoma startup company, and held leadership positions in medical and clinical development at Pfizer in Ophthalmology, overseeing the global medical responsibilities for the 1.3 B Xalatan franchise as Senior Medical Director. She sits on various editorial boards including the prestigious Ophthalmology Glaucoma, Journal of Glaucoma and Acta Ophthalmologica, has published and written numerous peer reviewed papers and books, and serves on various advisory boards, grant review committees, and holds fellowship positions with The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  She has been invited globally to lecture on her area of clinical research expertise, exfoliation glaucoma. Dr. Wirostko received her MD from and completed her residency at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY, and holds a BA with distinction in Microbiology from Cornell University.