Key People

Gullapalli N Rao, MD,
Distinguished Chair of Eye Health
Chair, Hyderabad Eye Institute
Founder, L V Prasad Eye Institute

Gullapalli N Rao returned to India in 1986 to establish L V Prasad Eye Institute, after a successful career in the United States as an academic ophthalmologist. Dr Rao received his basic medical education in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and completed his postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He went to the United States in 1974, where he was trained first at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and later at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he continued on the faculty until his return to India in 1986. His areas of specialization include diseases of the cornea, eye banking and corneal transplantation, community eye health, eye care policy and planning. He has published over 250 papers in national and international journals, and has contributed several book chapters. From 2004-2008, he served as President and CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, in which role he led VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, the global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. He is currently Chair of the International Centre for Eye Care Education (ICEE) and continues to be actively involved in global and national advocacy for eye care development.

Dr G Chandra Sekhar
Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad Head, VST Centre for Glaucoma

After receiving his basic medical degree in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Dr G Chandra Sekhar completed his residency in ophthalmology at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. He has delivered several orations including the prestigious Professor P. Siva Reddy Gold Medal Oration of the All India Ophthalmological Society/Conference. He holds the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor at the State University New York, School of Optometry, and Clinical Professor at the University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, USA. He has been a visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, and University of Southern California, San Diego, USA. Dr Chandra Sekhar received the Junior Honors achievement award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in November 2003. He has published 55 papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to five books. His research interests include optic disc imaging in glaucoma, psychophysical tests in glaucoma, plateau iris syndrome and angle closure glaucoma. He was President of the Glaucoma Society of India from 2004 - 2006. He is currently a member of the Glaucoma Research Society (ICO) and President, AP State Ophthalmological Society for 2007 - 2008. Dr Chandrasekhar has been with LVPEI since its establishment in 1987. He helped build up the glaucoma service at the institute and was instrumental in setting up and running the Education Centre, which provides training to hundreds of medical and paramedical professionals each year through short and long term programs. Having specialized in orbital diseases, lid and adnexal diseases, glaucoma and cataract, Dr Chandra Sekhar handles a wide range of patients in the clinics, bringing to his work rare insight drawn from years of experience.

Usha Gopinathan, Associate Executive Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute,
Technical & Scientific Director, RIEB

Usha Gopinathan obtained her doctorate in ocular mycology from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She began her career as a medical microbiologist and made significant contributions to the field, particularly ocular microbiology. She joined LVPEI in 1992 and developed a passion for eye banking that led to significant improvements in eye banking in India. She was instrumental in setting up a structured training program for eye bank professionals and enhancing the standards of eye banking, thereby addressing the needs of developing countries. As Technical and Scientific Director of the Ramayamma International Eye Bank (RIEB) of LVPEI and President Elect of the Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI), Dr Gopinathan continues to be the resource person for eye banking in areas of quality assurance, training, research and policy. She is the recipient of the TL Kapadia award for outstanding services to the corneally blind in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. As Associate Executive Director of the LVPEI network, she is also into management planning, system implementation and operations with an emphasis on 'Total Quality Assurance' of the network.

Prof D Balasubramanian
Director of Research, L V Prasad Eye Institute

Professor D Balasubramanian joined LVPEI's Prof Brien Holden Eye Research Centre after an illustrious scientific career, which included positions such as Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Professor and Dean, University of Hyderabad. He was honored by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 2002, and has received several other awards from professional and institutional bodies. Notable among them are the Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science from UNESCO, the Third World Academy of Sciences Award for Basic Medical Science, and the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite from the President of France. Prof Balasubramanian's research focuses on the biology of eye diseases. He has over 160 publications in national and international journals and has authored three books. He is a member of several editorial boards and serves on a range of national and international scientific committees. Currently, he is President of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), Trieste, Italy.

Dr Taraprasad Das
Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar

Taraprasad Das received his basic medical education in Sambhalpur University, Orissa. He completed his postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, and at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. After receiving his diploma in ophthalmic medicine and surgery from Kanpur University, he went on to work as a retina consultant with Aravind Eye Hospital. He also received further subspecialty clinical training at the University of Illinois Medical School, Wills Eye Hospital, Jefferson University, Philadelphia, and at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard University. He joined LVPEI in 1991. He is an internationally reputed retinal surgeon and has published over 124 papers in international and national journals, contributed to 24 books and authored/edited five books. He was also editor of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology from 1999 to 2004.

Virender Singh Sangwan, Associate Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute Head,
Cornea and Anterior Segment, Ocular Immunology & Uveitis Services

Virender Singh Sangwan completed basic education in medicine from Maharshi Dayanand University, Haryana, in 1986 and his M.S. in Ophthalmology in 1991. He did a fellowship in Cornea & Anterior Segment from the L V Prasad Eye Institute, and another in Immunology & Uveitis Services from the Harvard Medical School, USA, before joining LVPEI. He was Field Medical Director at ORBIS International Inc., New York, and Chief Fellow, Immunology & Uveitis Service of Harvard Medical School, Boston. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester, New York, USA. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award, 2006 and the Biotech Products and Process Development and Commercialization Award, 2007 from the Government of India. He has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, presented widely and served as faculty for workshops and instruction courses on uveitis, limbal stem cell deficiency and limbal stem cell transplantation both nationally and internationally. He is reviewer for the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, Cornea, Comprehensive Ophthalmology Update and Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology. He is on the editorial board of International Ophthalmology and section editor of British Journal of Ophthalmology. He is an honorary member of the North African Centre of Sight, National Ophthalmic Society of El Salvador and National Ophthalmic Society of Peru. He is secretary of the Asia Cornea Society and Vice-President, Uveitis Society of India. He is also founder secretary/treasurer of Uveitis Society of India and the LVPEI Alumni Association.

Santosh G Honavar, MD, FACS
Associate Director, LV Prasad Eye Institute
Head, Ophthalmic and Facial Plastic Surgery, Orbit and Ocular Oncology

Santosh G Honavar completed his basic medical education at Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore, and his post-graduate training at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He completed a second fellowship, in Ocular Oncology at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, USA. His clinical interests include ocular and adnexal tumours and ophthalmic plastic surgery and orbital diseases, particularly in pediatric patients. His research interests lie in tumours of the ocular surface, eyelid and orbit, retinoblastoma, ptosis and pediatric lacrimal disorders. Santosh G Honavar has been recognised by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and by several other professional organisations, for his excellence in research and clinical practice. He has published and presented widely.

Savitri Sharma
Associate Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute Network - Laboratory Services

After completing her postgraduation in medical microbiology at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, Savitri Sharma specialized in ocular microbiology at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She joined LVPEI in 1991. Her research interests are ocular infections and inflammation with a special focus on fungal, bacterial, protozoal and viral infections of the eye. She has published 141 papers in national and international journals and has won several competitive grants from industrial and government bodies such as Bausch & Lomb, British Contact Lens Association, Department of Biotechnology and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - both under the Government of India. She has been editor-in-chief of the Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology for the past six years and is on the review board of several ophthalmology and microbiology journals. She has received commendations from several professional bodies including the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists, All India Ophthalmology Society and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She has also supervised several PhD students from the Birla Institute of Technology (BITS), Pilani.