Pradeep Ramulu

PRADEEP RAMULU, MD, PhD, MHS, graduated with Honors from Stanford University, and then joined the MD/PhD program at Johns Hopkins University, completing his PhD work on retinal biology with Jeremy Nathans. He subsequently completed his Ophthalmology residency at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and a Glaucoma Fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. After his fellowship, he returned to Wilmer’s Glaucoma Division, where he began a program to study the functional consequences of visual impairment.

Using a variety of tools including patient reported outcomes, observation of task performance, and real-world behavioral monitoring, Dr. Ramulu has helped define when, how, and why visual impairment results in disability. His work has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed publications, 10 book chapters, and 2 books. Because of his expertise, he has helped various agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation to set vision standards for work. He also holds leadership positions in various national and international ophthalmic societies, including the American Glaucoma Society and World Glaucoma Association.

In addition to his research, Dr. Ramulu is an active teacher, clinician and surgeon. He has mentored numerous medical students, MPH students, residents and fellows clinically and in research projects. He twice won the resident teaching award and, in a model that has now become the standard for Wilmer, reorganized glaucoma teaching by placing lectures on-line and using in-class time for interactive sessions using game-based learning and small-group interactive case review. On top of caring for his patients’ needs, he now serves as Director of the Wilmer Glaucoma service, consisting of 10 faculty and over 20 research, clinical, and administrative staff members.

Dr. Ramulu has received continuous NIH funding since 2007 and has received the Secretariat and Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Pisart Award for Vision Science. His current work is focused on the possible protective role of physical activity against eye disease, developing methods to assess/prevent falls in older adults, particularly those with visual impairment, and the use of ocular imaging to identify persons at risk for cognitive impairment.

Dr. Ramulu credits any success to his extraordinary mentors and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, and also to his ever-supportive parents, Yammanuru and Aruna Ramulu, his 20 years of loving marriage to his wife and spiritual beacon, Vandana, and his two talented and inspiring children – his son Shreyas (a sophomore at River Hill High School) and daughter Priyanka (an 8th grader at Clarksville Middle School).