Yuna Rapoport

I received my bachelor’s and medical degrees at Northwestern University, where I was part of the accelerated honors program in medical education. I simultaneously received my MPH (Master of Public Health) degree. I completed my ophthalmology residency at Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, Tennessee and then obtained additional training as a corneal and refractive surgery fellow at the prestigious Mass Eye and Ear of Harvard Medical School. Among the most rewarding of my experiences was doing my MPH thesis focused on researching the Aravind Eye Hospital in southern India, a model of outreach-based cataract surgery. I used my experience to co-found a nonprofit organization to help a Ghanaian ophthalmologist start a similar surgical model outside of Accra, Ghana. It was while observing cataract surgery and the corneal pathology in southern India, that I decided to pursue ophthalmology as a career. While in residency, I performed research to validate the national criteria for ocular graft-versus-host disease, which was featured in the Journal of Cornea. I presented this and other research at national conferences. I also traveled to Nepal to study small-incision cataract surgery. At Mass Eye and Ear, I served as a clinical instructor for residents in the MEEI emergency room and published research regarding postoperative management of Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). My professional interests emphasize refractive surgery including leading techniques such as SMILE, ICL, RLE, as well as LASIK, and PRK. I also perform cataract and MIGS surgery. My work regarding advances in eye care has been published in leading medical journals and presented at major ophthalmology meetings. I am a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and New York State Ophthalmological Society. I am involved in resident education and am an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Mount Sinai Hospital. I have been named a Castle Connolly’s Top Cataract and Cornea Doctor by my colleagues. I consult for numerous companies in the dry eye, blepharitis and cataract surgery space, and have helped companies bring their products to launch. I am an advisor for an ophthalmology VC fund and consult for investors on a regular basis.