Joseph Markoff founded Philadelphia Eye Associates in 1978 after completing his Residency at the Wills Eye Hospital. Dr. Markoff received his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees. In addition he holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in Physiology; He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Dr. Markoff has directed the Visual Physiology service at Wills Eye Hospital for the past thirty two years. At Wills he holds the rank of Attending Surgeon and Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University Medical School. . He has lectured nationally and internationally on cataract surgery, glaucoma, retinal disease and basic physiology of the eye. He has published and presented more than one hundred fifty scientific papers. He has been chief of ophthalmology at the Albert Einstein (Southern Division) and St. Agnes Medical Centers. He has conducted over 50 clinical trials sponsored by companies such as Alcon, Allergan, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Merck. He was included in “America’s Top Ophthalmologists” in 2004.

He is past chairman of the executive council of the Wills Eye Hospital Society and has served on the boards of several health care related companies. He is also a professional trumpet player having performed with the Orchestras of Syracuse, Minnesota, St.Paul and Philadelphia. He has also done research into the acoustics of musical instruments. A New York Times article about this work appeared in its Science Section on November 2, 1999.

In February 2010 he assumed the role as Global Director for Scientific Affairs in Ophthalmology at Merck, Inc. He still serves as a consultant for Philadelphia Eye Associates.