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Dr. Allison N. McCoy is an oculofacial plastic surgeon who specializes in the eyes and face. She earned her undergraduate degree, medical degree, and doctorate of philosophy at the Duke University School of Medicine. She then completed her ophthalmology residency and neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University / Wilmer Eye Institute. This was followed by a highly prestigious two-year American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery Fellowship at the University of Michigan. She has been practicing her craft in San Diego since 2015.

Doctor credentials
Doctor credentials
Doctor credentials
Doctor credentials

Dr. Allison N. McCoy: A detail focused Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon

Dr. McCoy believes that when it comes to your eyes and face, every detail matters. With expertise in both surgical and non-surgical rejuvenation, she customizes the treatment plan to achieve the most natural-looking results possible, through the least invasive means. Her goal is to rejuvenate and preserve the facial characteristics that make each person unique. She also enjoys teaching, having published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, as well as lecturing and presenting research nationally.

As a Ph.D. neuroscientist, Dr. McCoy has been involved in clinical and basic science research involving targeted therapy for thyroid eye disease. She has a special interest in visual perception, understanding the principles that define beauty and facial identity. Her passion lies in utilizing these principles to restore beauty and facial identity when it is lost due to aging, trauma or disease.

View Dr. McCoy's CV

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Education & Training

Honors & Awards

  • Sigma Xi International Research Society Grant Award
  • Graduate Student Poster Symposium Prize,
    NC Society for Neuroscience
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Duke University
  • Graduation with Distinction, Cum Laude, Duke University
  • Research Training Fellowship Award, NIMH, NIH
  • Joanne and Irving Diamond Award for Graduate Teaching
  • Cover for Nature Neuroscience
  • Transitional Resident Project of the Year
  • Neal Miller Research Grant Award
  • Michael Boland Research Grant Award
  • Mitchell Prize for Resident Research, 1st place
  • Heed Fellowship 

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

  • Andrews TJ, McCoy AN. Can illusory motion disrupt tracking real motion? Perception 1997; 26:269-75.
  • Coppola DM, Purves HR, McCoy AN, Purves D. The distribution of oriented contours in the real world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1998; 95:4002-6.
  • Williams SM, McCoy AN, Purves D. An empirical explanation of brightness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1998; 95:13301-6.
  • Williams SM, McCoy AN, Purves D. The influence of depicted illumination on perceived brightness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1998; 95:13296-300.
  • Quan N, Mhlanga JD, Whiteside MB, McCoy AN, Kristensson K, Herkenham M. Chronic overexpression of proinflammatory cytokines and histopathology in the brains of rats infected with Trypanosoma brucei. Journal of Comparative Neurology 1999; 414:114-30.
  • McCoy AN, Crowley JC, Haghighian G, Dean HL, Platt ML. Saccade reward signals in posterior cingulate cortex. Neuron 2003; 40:1031-40.
  • McCoy AN, Platt ML. Expectations and outcomes: decision-making in the primate brain. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2005; 191:201-11.
  • McCoy AN, Platt ML. Risk-sensitive neurons in macaque posterior cingulate cortex. Nature Neuroscience 2005; 8:1220-7.
  • Hayden BY, Nair AC, McCoy AN, Platt ML. Posterior cingulate cortex mediates outcome-contingent allocation of behavior. Neuron 2008; 60:19-25. 10.
  • Richard MJ, Woodward DJ, McCoy AN, Woodward JA. Reading modulates surface EMG recordings in benign essential blepharospasm patients. Journal of Oculoplastic & Reconstructive Surgery 2009; 25:378-81. 11.
  • Stein JD, McCoy AN, Asrani S, Herndon LW, Lee PP, McKinnon SJ, Allingham RR, Challa P. Surgical management of hypotony owing to overfiltration in eyes receiving glaucoma drainage devices. Journal of Glaucoma 2009; 18:638-41. 
  • Mroczkowski MM, Redgrave GW, Miller NR, McCoy AN, Guarda AS. Reversible vision loss secondary to malnutrition in a woman with severe anorexia nervosa, purging type, and alcohol abuse. International Journal of Eating Disorders 2011; 44:281-3.
  • Boland MV*, McCoy AN*, Quigley HA, Miller NR, Subramanian PS, Ramulu PY, Murakami P, Danesh-Meyer H. Evaluation of an algorithm for detecting visual field defects due to chiasmal and post-chiasmal lesions: the Neurological Hemifield Test. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2011; 52:7959-65. *Co-first authors.
  • Chen CJ, McCoy AN, Brahmer J, Handa JT. Emerging treatments for choroidal metastases. Survey of Ophthalmology 2011; 56:511-21.
  • Biotti D, Vignal C, Sharshar T, Gout O, McCoy AN, Miller NR. Blindness, weakness, and tingling. Survey of Ophthalmology 2012; 57:565-72.
  • Cruz FM, Oktavec KC, McCoy AN, Miller NR. Exceptions that prove the rules in neuro-ophthalmology. Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology 2013; 33:97-101.
  • Wubben TJ, Eghrari A, McCoy AN, Ramsey DJ. Optic atrophy in end-stage giant axonal neuropathy: a case report. Neuro-Ophthalmology 2013; 37:209-13.
  • McCoy AN and Tan SY. Otto Loewi (1873-1961): Dreamer and Nobel Laureate. Singapore Medical Journal 2014; 55:3-4.
  • McCoy AN, Quigley HA, Wang J, Miller NR, Subramanian PS, Ramulu PY and Boland MV. Development and validation of an improved Neurological Hemifield Test to identify chiasmal and post-chiasmal lesions by automated perimetry. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2014; 55:1017-23.
  • McCoy AN, Kim DS, Gillespie E, Atkins S, Smith TJ, Douglas RS. Rituximab (Rituxan®) therapy for severe thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy diminishes IGF-1R+ T cells. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2014; 99:1294-9.
  • Rajaii F*, McCoy AN*, and Smith TJ. Cytokines are both villains and potential therapeutic targets in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy: from bench to bedside. Expert Reviews in Ophthalmology 2014; 9:227-234. *Co-first authors.
  • McCoy AN, Quigley HA, Miller NR, Subramanian PS, Ramulu PY, Boland MV. Author response: Neurological Hemifield Test in binasal defects. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2015; 56:2570.
  • Tan SY and McCoy AN. James Dewey Watson (1928-): Co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Singapore Medical Journal 2020; 61(10):507-508.  
  • Tan SY and McCoy AN. Francis Harry Crick (1916-2004): Co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Singapore Medical Journal 2020; 61(10):505-506. 
  • Oca MC, Meller L, Wilson K, Parikh AO, McCoy A, Chang J, Sudharshan R, Gupta S, Zhang-Nunes S. Bias and Inaccuracy in AI Chatbot Ophthalmologist Recommendations. Cureus 2023; 15:9.
  • Parikh AO, Oca MC, Conger JR, McCoy A, Chang J, Zhang-Nunes S. Accuracy and Bias in Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Recommendations for Oculoplastic Surgeons. Cureus 2024; 16:4. 

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