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Rohit Varma, MD, Ophthalmology, Hollywood, CA, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center

RohitVarmaMDMPH

Ophthalmology Hollywood, CA

Glaucoma Related

Chief Medical Officer CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA Founding Director, Southern California Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA Chief Global Growth Officer, CHA Health Systems, Los Angeles, CA Founding Director USC Roski Eye Institute

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  • Office

    Southern California Eye Institute, CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
    1300 North Vermont Avenue, Doctors Tower Suite 101
    Hollywood, CA 90027
    Phone+1 833-270-3937
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Summary

  • An expert on glaucoma and how it affects the optic nerve, Rohit Varma, M.D., M.P.H., has helped to develop implantable devices that measure intraocular pressure and drainage. He has also contributed to changes in public health policy that take into account the needs of different racial and ethnic communities. Currently, Dr. Rohit Varma focuses much of his time on developing novel imaging techniques that will allow ophthalmologists to diagnose optic nerve damage from glaucoma in its early stages. A physician-scientist, he serves as a principal investigator on several major projects, including the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Diseases Study, the Chinese American Eye Study and the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. The studies are funded through the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Dr. Varma is a principal investigator with the World Health Organization, where he leads research on blindness and vision impairment.

    The recipient of a number of honors for his research and clinical practice, Dr. Rohit Varma serves as Director of the Southern California Eye Institute at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA. Previously he was professor of ophthalmology and preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, where he also held the Grace and Emery Beardsley Chair in Ophthalmology. In 2016, the American Academy of Ophthalmology presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. In the same year, he was named among the “Best Doctors in America” for the second consecutive year. He has also earned recognition as a “Top Doctor” from Castle Connolly and Pasadena magazine.

    After earning his doctor of medicine from the University of Delhi in India, Dr. Varma relocated to the United States, where he served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wills Eye Hospital at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and received a master of public health from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore.

Education & Training

  • University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center
    University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical CenterFellowship, Glaucoma, 1993 - 1994
  • Johns Hopkins University
    Johns Hopkins UniversityResidency, Ophthalmology, 1990 - 1993
  • Union Memorial Hospital
    Union Memorial HospitalInternship, Preliminary Year, 1989 - 1990
  • Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/Wills Eye Hospital
    Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/Wills Eye HospitalFellowship, Glaucoma, 1986 - 1989
  • Johns Hopkins University
    Johns Hopkins UniversityMasters, Public Health, Epidemiology, 1989
  • Maulana Azad Medical College
    Maulana Azad Medical CollegeClass of 1986

Certifications & Licensure

  • CA State Medical License
    CA State Medical License 1994 - 2026
  • MD State Medical License
    MD State Medical License 1993 - 2017
  • IL State Medical License
    IL State Medical License 2013 - 2017
  • American Board of Ophthalmology Ophthalmology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Silver Fellow Association for Researchbin Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
  • Top Doctors Pasadena Magazine, 2015-2018
  • Lifetime Achievement Award American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2016
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Clinical Trials

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • Association of Parental Myopia with Higher Risk of Myopia Among Multiethnic Children Before School Age  
    Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch, Rohit Varma, JAMA Ophthalmology
  • Maximum Reading Speed in Patients with Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular Degeneration  
    Neil M Bressler, Rohit Varma, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science

Lectures

  • Modeling Topographic Regularity in Structural Brain Connectivity with Application to Tractogram Filtering 
    University of California, San Francisco, Napa, California - 9/21/2012

Authored Content

  • The Big Role of these Universities in the Growth of Convergence7/10/2018

Press Mentions

  • Countdown to Herd Immunity: The Fight to Get People Vaccinated for COVID-19
    Countdown to Herd Immunity: The Fight to Get People Vaccinated for COVID-19April 27th, 2021
  • As Underserved Areas Grapple with Vaccine Inequities, Sean Penn’s Nonprofit Joins Effort to Get Doses to Residents
    As Underserved Areas Grapple with Vaccine Inequities, Sean Penn’s Nonprofit Joins Effort to Get Doses to ResidentsApril 20th, 2021
  • World Glaucoma Week, Observance & Awareness of Glaucoma
    World Glaucoma Week, Observance & Awareness of GlaucomaMarch 19th, 2021
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Grant Support

  • Primary Open Angle African-American Glaucoma GeneticsNIH/NEI2014–2019
  • African American Eye Disease StudyNIH/NEI2013–2018
  • The Pediatric Eye Disease Consortium: a Pooled Analysis of Individual-Participant Data from Population-based StudiesNIH/NEI2015–2017
  • Mexican American Glaucoma Genetic StudyNIH/NEI2012–2017
  • Los Angeles Eye Study 3NIH/NEI1998–2014

Committees

  • Member, Awards Committee, ARVO 2019 - Present
  • Chair, National Eye Institute Special Emphasis Panel 2015 - 2016
  • AAO Public Health Committee, Chair 2009 - 2013
  • Co-Chair, AAO Glaucoma Subspecialty Day Program Committee 2008 - 2010
  • Chair, NIH Toolbox Vision Section 2007 - 2018

Professional Memberships

Other Languages

  • Hindi, Punjabi

Hospital Affiliations