Gullapalli N. Rao, a noted Indian eye doctor, has been selected to the 2017 Ophthalmology Hall of Fame instituted by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

The founder and chair of the LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Rao will be honoured at the induction ceremony in Los Angeles on May 6 at the annual meeting of the ASCRS.

The Hall of Fame honours pioneers in ophthalmology for their distinguished careers and contributions, with the physicians selected by their peers – more than 30,000 ophthalmologists across the world.

Since its inception in 1999, 55 scientists and physicians of all generations have been bestowed with this recognition.

According to the official ASCRS website, the inductees are “individuals whose contribution to the field of ophthalmology have shaped the way modern ophthalmology is practiced” and “who have trained thousands of ophthalmologists who practice throughout the world, and developed institutions that will continue ophthalmic research for years to come.”

On the recognition Rao said "I feel overwhelmed and humbled to be part of this group of all-time greats of ophthalmology. I am very grateful to everyone, especially in LVPEI, for helping me in this journey".

After a successful career in the US as an academic ophthalmologist, Gullapalli Rao returned to India and founded the L V Prasad Eye Institute in 1987. He graduated from the Guntur Medical College, Andhra Pradesh, and completed his post-graduate residency training in ophthalmology at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

With over 300 publications so far, Rao's areas of specialisation includes diseases of the cornea, eye banking, corneal transplantation, community eye health, eyecare policy and planning.

He is currently the President of the prestigious Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI), a group of 80 eminent academicians in ophthalmology in the world, and is a past Chair of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).