Rate My Professor John Sullivan

John M. Sullivan, MD, PhD, serves as Professor of Ophthalmology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. He earned a BA in Microbiology from Rutgers University in 1979, an MD and PhD in Medicine and Biophysics from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1987, completed an internship at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, a residency in Ophthalmology at Washington University School of Medicine in 1992, and a fellowship in Retinal Degenerative Diseases at the University of Michigan in 1994. Sullivan began his academic career as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Upstate Medical University from 1994 to 2004. He joined the University at Buffalo as Associate Professor in 2004, received tenure in 2011, and was promoted to full Professor in 2017. Since 2004, he has been a Staff Physician at the VA Western NY Healthcare System and directs a regional referral service for hereditary retinal and macular degenerations at the Ross Eye Institute.

Sullivan's research centers on developing gene-based and nucleic acid therapeutics, including hammerhead ribozymes and RNAi agents, for hereditary retinal degenerations and age-related macular degeneration. His NIH- and VA-funded laboratory has secured major grants, such as an R01 from the National Eye Institute for Optimizing Enhanced Hammerhead Ribozymes for Retinal Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (2023–2027, $2,239,262) and a VA Merit Award for A Ribozyme Rescue Strategy for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (2009–2024, $715,000). Key publications include 'Enhanced hammerhead ribozyme turnover rates: reevaluating therapeutic space for small catalytic RNAs' (Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, 2025), 'Genome-wide association analyses identify distinct genetic architectures for age-related macular degeneration across ancestries' (Nature Genetics, 2024), 'Systematic Screening, Rational Development, and Initial Optimization of Efficacious RNA Silencing Agents for Human Rod Opsin Therapeutics' (Translational Vision Science & Technology, 2019), and 'Development of lead hammerhead ribozyme candidates against human rod opsin mRNA for retinal degeneration therapy' (Experimental Eye Research, 2009). He holds patents including 'Enhanced Hammerhead Ribozymes and Methods of Use' (2025). Sullivan was invited to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation Fighting Blindness in 2024 and chaired the Ad Hoc Tenure and Promotions Committee of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2021.