Dr. Xu attended Yale University where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Columbia University where he was part of the NIH-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program. He completed a well-received thesis studying how the brain uses eye position signals to coordinate accurate eye movements. Dr. Xu completed his residency in ophthalmology at the LAC+USC Medical Center and USC Roski Eye Institute, where he served as Chief Resident and was recognized for his academic and teaching achievements. He completed his glaucoma fellowship with Dr. Robert Weinreb at the UCSD Shiley Eye Institute and Hamilton Glaucoma Center.

Dr. Xu’s primary research interest is preventing vision loss and blindness in patients at risk for angle closure glaucoma (ACG), a common type of glaucoma. His research focuses on studying the pathophysiology of ACG and improving the care of angle closure patients. Dr. Xu collaborates with Dr. Rohit Varma on his population-based eye studies such as the Chinese American Eye Study to identify risk factors for ACG and other ocular diseases. Dr. Xu also uses advanced anterior segment imaging modalities including anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) to study the physiological and biomechanical properties of intraocular structures and aqueous outflow pathways. Finally, Dr. Xu works on designing biomedical devices to assess the function of anterior segment structures, such as the iris and trabecular meshwork.