Relief Jones, III, M.D.
Board-Certified Ophthalmologist
Harvard Fellowship-Trained Glaucoma Specialist
Relief Jones, III, M.D. founded the San Antonio Eye Institute, PLLC in 2008. He is a Board-Certified Ophthalmologist and Harvard Fellowship-Trained Glaucoma Specialist. He practices comprehensive ophthalmology with an emphasis on medical, laser, and surgical treatment of glaucoma and modern cataract surgery utilizing the no-shot, no-stitch technique (when appropriate). Dr. Jones has special expertise in implanting premium intraocular lenses (IOL's) and removing potentially complicated cataracts (mature cataracts, pseudoexfoliation cataracts, cataract combined with glaucoma surgery, etc.). In addition, Dr. Jones performs minimally-invasive cosmetic proceudres, including dermal fillers and BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Dr. Jones is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio and is a Team Physician with the San Antonio Rampage Hockey Team. He is involved in basic science and clinical research and continues to publish articles in scientific journals. He enjoys teaching students (high school, college, and medical), interns, residents, other medical professionals, and citizens in the community. In 2011, he published his first book, Astute Physician's Primer on Employment Contracts which sells on Amazon.com.
Recent Awards: Voted one of the "Leading Physicians in the World" (2011) by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals; Voted one of "America's Top Ophthalmologists" (2009 & 2010) by the Consumer's Research Council of America; Voted one of "San Antonio's Top Doctors" (2007) by Scene in San Antonio.
Extended Biography
Dr. Jones grew up in Buras, Louisiana (a small town southeast of New Orleans). He graduated Valedictorian at Buras High School where he served as Class President and Student Council President. He was a gifted student-athlete winning State Championships in Wrestling (both team and individual titles) and Football (voted an Academic All-State Linebacker). One of their biggest rivals in football was Peyton Manning's Newman Greenies.
He graduated from Stanford University with Honors in 1996, where he majored in Psychology with a dual emphasis in Neuroscience and Social Psychology. During his senior year, he secured an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant that funded his research laboratory studying the stereotype threat phenomenon. This phenomenon was initially described by his faculty advisor, Claude Steele, Ph.D., and sought to understand how stereotypes of any kind could undermine an individual's performance and ultimate success. His studies specifically explored how gender stereotypes could affect a woman's performance on standardized mathematical examinations and how racial stereotypes could cause strain in specific interracial interactions. At Stanford, Dr. Jones was a member of the varsity cheerleading team. This helped him stay in shape and earned him a Sears Director's Cup Post-Graduate Scholarship that helped him pay for medical school.
Dr. Jones continued his medical studies at the Duke University School of Medicine and earned his M.D in 2000. He was initially interested in Orthopaedic Surgery, but discovered his passion for Ophthalmology after a rotation at the Duke Eye Center. "Ophthalmology provided a good balance between the medical and surgical treatment of disease. It also required precise microsurgical skills which I found stimulating," said Dr. Jones. Duke provided unique opportunities for their medical students, including a flexible year in which a student could learn to conduct basic science or clinical research, earn a M.B.A. at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, a J.D. at the Duke Law School, or a M.P.H. at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Jones started this year as a M.B.A. student at the Fuqua School of Business, but ultimately decided to return to the medical center to conduct basic science research. He joined the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory of Farshid Guilak, Ph.D. There, he was involved in numerous, cutting-edge research projects and co-authored his first peer-reviewed journal article. "I had a sound understanding of how physicians thought about and solved problems, but I wanted to understand how engineers thought about and solved problems, and that is the primary reason I immersed myself into the world of biomedical engineering," replied Dr. Jones. He was named an Academic Medicine Fellow by National Medical Fellowships (NMF) and earned a research grant from Bristol-Meyers Squibb that funded his research.
This interest in research did not end at Duke. After medical school, Dr. Jones traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Ocular Immunology and Transplantation at the Schepens Eye Research Institute at the Harvard Medical School (the largest independent eye research institute in the country). There he worked with world-renowned ocular immunologist, Wayne Streilein, M.D. His research explored the complex immunological process called Anterior Chamber-Associated Immune Deviation (A.C.A.I.D.), and how this process could be manipulated to protect transplanted corneas. This research fellowship confirmed his interest in ophthalmology and he subsequently applied for internship and residency in ophthalmology.
Dr. Jones returned to New Orleans for his Internship at Tulane University. His internship was comprised of a combination of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Emergency Medicine. "This was a great year during my medical training. What made it special was the fact that I was able to see my family more frequently, and I had a chance to enjoy the delicious Creole and Cajun food I grew up eating," said Dr. Jones.
In 2002, Dr. Jones packed his belongings and headed West to San Antonio, Texas. For the next 3 years, he was an ophthalmology resident at the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio. During his free time, Dr. Jones volunteered with the Lion's Club, screening the general population for glaucoma in front of HEB's around San Antonio. He also conducted clinical and basic science research. One of his projects answered a question initially asked by a patient. Does head head-down yoga postures have an effect on the intraocular pressure? All of his projects (totalling four in two years) were accepted for presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Jones won an honorable mention award at the Alamo Day Resident Research Conference for a project that examined the effect of the ophthalmic vein occlusion pressure on glaucoma. He subsequently presented this work at the annual meeting of the Texas Medical Association/Texas Ophthalmological Association.
After completing his residency, Dr. Jones returned to Boston for a Glaucoma Fellowship at the prestigious Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at the Harvard Medical School. He also served as a rotating Surgical Fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital. "My glaucoma fellowship at the Mass. Eye and Ear was the highlight of my training. This year allowed me to refine my clinical acumen and surgical skills. I also had the opportunity to be lead author on a number of peer-reviewed articles that were published in highly-respected, internationally read medical journals," said Dr. Jones.
Dr. Jones returned to San Antonio, Texas, with 14 years of advanced medical training. He ultimately choose San Antonio due to the cultural diversity and friendly, family-oriented population. He and his family enjoy working out, dancing salsa and merengue, playing many different sports and traveling. He worked at the San Antonio Eye Center, P.A. for three and a half years before founding the San Antonio Eye Institute, PLLC in 2008. Dr. Jones is a Diplomate and Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Texas Medical Association, Bexar County Medical Society, and the San Antonio Society of Ophthalmologist. He serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio and writes as a member of Publications Committee of the Bexar County Medical Society (they produce San Antonio Medicine Magazine...a monthly publication).
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Distribution of COL8A2 and COL8A1 Gene Variants in Caucasian Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients with Thin Central Corneal Thickness
Desronvil T, Logan-Wyatt D, Abdrabou W, Triana M, Jones R, Taheri S, Del Bona E, Pasquale LR, Olivier M, Haines JL, Fan BJ, Wiggs JL
Harvard Medical School
Molecular Vision 2010 Oct 29;16:2185-91.
Abstract
Posterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Associated with Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose
Jones, Relief III MD; Carter, John E. MD
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
HCP Live (2008); 03/07/2008
Link
Herpes Simplex Virus: An Important Etiology for Secondary Glaucoma
Jones, Relief III MD; Pasquale, Louis R. MD; Pavan-Langston, Deborah
MD
Harvard Medial School
International Ophthalmology Clinics (2007); 47(2):99-107.
Download PDF
Corticosteroid-induced Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma: A Brief Review and Update of the Literature
Jones, Relief III MD; Rhee, Douglas MD
Harvard Medical School
Current Opinions in Ophthalmology (2006); 17:163-67.
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Post-Hurricane Eye Care
Jones, Relief III MD
Harvard Medical School
Archives of Ophthalmology (2006); 124:1067.
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Uniocular Drug Trial
Jones, Relief III MD; Triana, Maria Isabel MD; Zaslow, Kenneth MD; Sponsel, William E. MD
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Ophthalmology (2005); 112(6):1170.
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Heterotopic Ossification in Rectal Cancer: Rare Finding with a Novel Proposed Mechanism
Kypson, Alan P MD; Morphew, Emilie MD;
Jones, Relief III MD; Gottfried, Marcia R. MD; Seigler, Hilliard F. MD
Duke University School of Medicine
Journal of Surgical Oncology (2003); 82:132-36.
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Joint Degeneration Following Meniscal Allograft Transplantation in a Canine Model: Mechanical Properties and Semi-quantitative Histology of Articular Cartilage
Elliot, Dawn M.; Jones, Relief III MD; Setton, Lori A. PhD; Scully, Sean P. MD; Vail, T. Parker MD; Guilak, Farshid PhD
Duke University School of Medicine
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2002); 10:109-18.
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Scientific Posters
M. Mujat, T. Chen, R.C. Chan, B. Cense, B.H. Park, R. Jones, J.F. de Boer. Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Map Determined with SD-OCT and Performance Assessment of the Automatic Algorithm. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, Fl, May 2006.
M.I. Triana, D. Logan, R. Jones, III, E. Delbono, J.L. Wiggs. Distribution of DNA Sequence Variants in COL8A1 and COL8A2 in Glaucoma Patients with Thin CCT. ARVO, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2006 and 2006 Update on Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston, MA, June 2006.
R. Jones, III, M.I. Triana, W.E. Sponsel, R. Stodtmeister. Central Retinal Vein Collapse Pressure in Glaucoma Suspects with Cup-to-Disc Ratio Asymmetry. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2005.
M.I. Triana, R. Jones, III, J.C. MacDonald, R. Glickman. Formulation of an Optimized Local Anesthetic for Ocular Surgical Procedures. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2005.
R. Jones, III, M.J. Gallardo, and S. McKinnon. Transient Intraocular Pressure Increase in Complete Head-Down Yoga Postures. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2004.
M. Gallardo, R. Jones, III, and C. MacDonald. Cost Comparison of AREDS Formula Tabs Versus Individual Vitamin Supplements. Association for Research in Vison and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2004.