Dr. Gullapalli N Rao, founder of LV Prasad Vision Institute, receives the Dr. G. Venkataswamy Oration Award.

As part of the annual October Summit, commemorating the birth of Dr. V, Aravind Eye Care System awarded the Dr. G. Venkataswamy Oration Award to Dr. Gullapalli N Rao, founder and chair of the world-renowned L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad.

Dr. Rao received his training at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and later at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he was also on the faculty until 1986. His areas of specialization include diseases of the cornea, eye banking and corneal transplantation, community eye health, eye care policy and planning. He has published over 250 papers in national and international journals, and has contributed several book chapters. From 2004-2008, he served as President and CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, where he led VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, the global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. He is currently Chair of the International Centre for Eye Care Education (ICEE) and continues to be actively involved in global and national advocacy for eye care development.

Dr. Rao has received many international honors, including awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Asia Cornea Society, the World Cornea Congress, the Academia OphthalmologicaInternationalis, and the International Council of Ophthalmology. He is also the recipient of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honor.