Natalie Afshari

Prior to her appointment to UC San Diego, she was Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Centers of Excellence at the Duke University Eye Center. She received her medical degree from Stanford University and her residency training at Harvard University, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She then completed a two-year fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Harvard University.

Dr. Afshari is the recipient of the Senior Achievement Award and the Secretariat Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has been named a Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has received the inaugural Top Ten Women in Medicine Award by Triangle News, Women Who Mean Business award by San Diego Business Journal, and the Teacher of the Year award at the Duke University Eye Center. She has also been recognized as the Best Doctors in America in each listing for the past decade and was named in the U.S. News & World Report’s Top Doctors List.

Dr. Afshari is the co-editor of the two-volume cornea book titled “Principles and Practice of Cornea”. She is also on the editorial boards of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and the American Journal of Ophthalmology. She has previously served on the EyeNet editorial board, BCSC Cornea textbook committee, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology council representing the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. She was co-chair of the cornea program committee for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and co-director of Cornea Subspecialty Day for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She is currently the chair of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery FDA Committee. Her NIH research grant is on the study of Fuchs dystrophy, and she investigates the intricacies of endothelial keratoplasty and regeneration of cornea.

When not researching or practicing, Dr. Afshari donates her time and surgical expertise as an international volunteer. She has traveled to West Africa, Central America, and Mexico to help patients who might otherwise go untreated.