Sheila West

Professor

Academic Degrees

Ph.D. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health 1980

School/Organization
School of Medicine

Department / Division
ophthalmology

Joint Departmental Affiliations
Epidemiology

Center and Institute Affiliations
Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology

Departmental Address
wilmer Rm 129

Email: shwest@jhmi.edu
Phone: 410 955 2606
Fax: 410 955 0096

Research and Professional Experience

• Primary research interestes are in the determination of factors for the prevention, treatment, and control of global blinding diseases. Major areas of research have focused on the following three areas: 1. risk factors for cataracts, and disparities in access to cataract surgery survices,and eye care services in general; 2. Strategies for control of trachoma, with research on surgery, antibiotics, and envrionmental factors that can be used for trachoma control-reserch also on laboratory detection of chlamydial infection, and immunoloical factors associated with progression. 3. Impact of visual loss on function in older persons, especially older minority populations.

Honors and Awards

• 1969 Member, Rho Chi Honor Fraternity
• 1971 Recipient, University of California Bowl of Hygeia
• 1988 Fight for Sight Award for Clinical Research on Ocular U.V. Effects
• 1993 Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Investigator
• 1994 Recipient, Chibret Gold Medal from the International Organization Against Trachoma, for Work on Trachoma Control
• 1995 Carter Compton Collins II Lecturer, Optical Society of America
• 1999 Key-note speaker: Cataract Assessment Modalities and Epidemiology (CAME)-Club. Stockholm, Sweden
• 2000 Alta Lecture, Alta California Eye Research Foundation.
• 2001 Daniel G. Vaughan Memorial Lecture, Francis I Proctor Foundation
• 2001 Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Advisor Award
• 2001 Charles F. Prentice Medal Award winner, American Academy of Optometry
• 2001 Alcon Research Institute Awardee

Research Projects
Ancillary Benefits of Mass Treatment with Azithromycin
This project adds to the PRET partnership experts in fields of STD, malaria, diarrheal and ARI illnesses. As part of the larger study on use of azithromycin in trachoma endemic communities, we can efficiently nest a study of the added value of mass treatment on these other common morbidities. The...

Partnership for the Rapid Elimination of Trachoma (PRET)
The goal of the projects in this proposal is to improve the implementation of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control through trials on new methods for surgery and antibiotic use, thereby addressing fundamental questions limiting the success of the SAFE intervention strategy. Through this...

Yearly Mass Treatment C. Trachomatis for Trachoma Control in Tanzania
Country trachoma control programs are currently mass treating trachoma endemic communities every year using single dose azithromycin, with no evidence base for how long treatment must continue to reach these goals, or the optimal clinical marker with which to monitor progress. The World Health...



Selected Publications

• 178. West ES, Munoz B, Mkocha H, Holland MJ, Aguirre A, Solomon AW, Bailey R, Foster A, Mabey D, West SK. Mass treatment and the effect on the load of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a trachoma-hyperendemic community. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2005;46:83-87.
• 179. West SK, Phuong Nguyen M, Mkocha H, Holdsworth G, Ngirwamungu E, Kilima P, Munoz B. Gender equity and trichiasis surgery in the Vietnam and Tanzania national trachoma control programmes. Br J Ophthalmol 2004;88:1368-1371.
• 180. West E, Mkocha H, Munoz B, Mabey D, Foster A, Bailey R, West SK. Risk factors for post-surgical trichiasis recurrence in a trachoma-endemic area. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2005;46:447-453.
• 182. Alexander ND, Solomon AW, Holland MJ, Bailey RL, West SK, Shao JF, Mabey DC, Foster A.
• An index of community ocular Chlamydia trachomatis load for control of trachoma. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005;99:175-177.
• 184. Freeman EE, Munoz B, Bressler SB, West SK. Hormone replacement therapy, reproductive factors, and age-related macular degeneration: the Salisbury Eye Evaluation Project. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2005;12:37-45.
• 185. Merbs SL, West SK, West ES. Pattern of recurrence of trachomatous trichiasis after surgery. Ophthalmology 2005;112;705-709.
• 186. Burton MJ, Holland MJ, Makalo P, Aryee EA, Alexander ND, Sillah A, Fall H, West SK, Foster A, Johnson GJ, Mabey DC, Bailey RL. Re-emergence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection after mass antibiotic treatment of a trachoma-endemic Gambian community: a longitudinal study. Lancet 2005:365;1321-1328.
• 187. Chang MA, Congdon NG, Bykhovskaya I, Munoz B, West SK. The association between myopia and various subtypes of lens opacity: SEE (Salisbury Eye Evaluation) Project. Ophthalmology 2005;112:1395-1401.
• 188. Kempen JH, Jabs DA, Wilson LA, Dunn JP, West SK. Incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in second eyes of patients with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and unilateral CMV retinitis. Am J Ophthalmol 2005;139:1028-1034.
• 189. Burton MJ, Bowman RJ, Faal H, Aryee EA, Ikumapayi UN, Alexander ND, Adegbola RA, West SK, Mabey DC, Foster A, Johnson GJ, Bailey RL. Long term outcome of trichiasis surgery in the Gambia. Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:575-579.
• 190. West ES, Alemayehu W, Munoz B, Melese M, Imeru A, West SK. Surgery for trichiasis, antibiotics to prevent recurrence (STAR) clinical trial methodology. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2005;12:279-286.
• 192. Broman AT, Hafiz G, Munoz B, Rodriguez J, Snyder R, Klein R, West SK. Cataract and barriers to cataract surgery in a US Hispanic population. Proyecto VER. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1231-1236.
• 193. West SK, Munoz B, Rubin GS, Bandeen-Roche K, Broman AT, Turano KA. Compensatory strategy use identified risk of incident disability for the visually impaired. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1242-1247.
• 194. West SK, Munoz B, Mkocha H, Holland MJ, Solomon AW, Foster A, Bailey RL, Mabey DCW. Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis after mass treatment of a trachoma hyperendemic community in Tanzania: a longitudinal study. Lancet 2005;366:1296-1300.
• 195. West SK, Longstreth JD, Munoz B, Pitcher HM, Duncan DD. Model of risk of cortical cataract in the US population with exposure to increased ultraviolet radiation due to stratospheric ozone depletion. Am J Epidemiol 2005;162:1-9check.
• 196. Freeman EE, Munoz B, Turano KA, West SK. Measures of visual function and time to driving cessation in older adults. Optom Vis Sci 2005;82:765-773.
• 197. Freeman EE, Egleston BL, West SK, Bandeen-Roche K, Rubin G. Visual acuity change and mortality in older adults. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2005;46:4040-4045.
• 198. Munoz B, Klein R, Rodriguez, Snyder R, West SK. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in a population-based sample of Hispanic people in Arizona: Proyecto VER. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1575-1580.
• 199. Friedman DS, Munoz B, Roche KB, Massof R, Broman A, West SK. Poor uptake of cataract surgery in nursing home residents: the Salisbury Eye Evaluation in Nursing Home Groups study. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1581-7.
• 200. Patel I, Turano KA, Broman AT, Bandeen-Roche K, Munoz B, West SK. Measures of visual function and percentage of preferred walking speed in older adults: The Salisbury Eye Evaluation Project. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2006;47:65-71.
• 201. Broman AT, Shum K, Munoz B, Duncan DD, West SK. Spatial clustering of ocular chlamydia infection over time following treatment, among households in a village in Tanzania. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2006;47:99-104.
• 202. West SK, West ES, Alemayehu W, Melese M, Munoz B, Imeru A, Worku A, Gaydos C, Meinert CL, Quinn T. Single-dose Azithromycin prevents trichiasis recurrence following surgery: Randomized trial in Ethiopia. Arch Ophtalmol. 2006;124:309.

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