Rutuja Unhale MD FICO
Los Angeles,California
Summary
Surgeon-Scientist, double fellowship-trained at UCLA with international awards and honors. Results-driven ophthalmologist with decisive leadership and directorial experience in a thriving eye hospital. Strong track record of innovation and team collaboration, with multiple clinical research projects and peer-reviewed, high-impact publications. Skilled background in deep learning models in clinical imaging in ophthalmology, working with current and past presidents of ARVO and the director of the UCLA Bioengineering AI Lab. First-hand experience as a key clinician-scientist in pre-clinical FDA IND submissions for new drug development and phase 1 clinical trial.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Medical Co-Director, Chief Operating Officer
Netradham Eye Hospital
Beed, Maharashtra, India
07.2024 - 10.2025
- Evaluated new treatments and technologies for implementation in clinical settings.
- Performed complex surgical eye procedures
- Community outreach with free eye checkup clinics and cataract surgeries in underserved areas
- Directed clinical teams to ensure high-quality patient care standards.
- Led in creating a culture of collaboration among teams by organizing team-building workshops.
- Conducted regular performance reviews with direct reports
- Oversaw regulatory compliance and quality assurance for medical practices.
- Collaborated with the team to develop strategic initiatives for organizational growth.
Clinician Scientist, Postdoctoral Scholar
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Los Angeles
07.2021 - 06.2024
- Prepared manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
- A key clinical team member in the FDA Phase 1 clinical trial. Patient imaging data acquisition and analysis for FDA submission.
- Key role in the surgical research and preparation of grant proposals for funding eye research initiatives, resulting in successful grant approval to my PI ($5.79M) from CIRM, Berkeley, for a pre-clinical translational project.
- Conducted research on ocular diseases and treatments at a leading eye institute.
- Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to enhance patient care protocols.
- Analyzed clinical data to support ongoing studies and publications.
Assistant Project Scientist
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Los Angeles
01.2021 - 06.2021
- Innovative medical research by establishing animal disease model for corneal stromal scar by corneal surgery
- Thorough understanding of animal research protocols and ethics
- Developed and maintained documentation for research protocols and compliance standards.
Reviewer
Cornea Journal
07.2020 - Current
- Invited reviewer for Cornea, the journal of the Cornea Society, the topmost scientific journal for the cornea in the world.
International Clinical and Research Fellow
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Los Angeles
07.2019 - 12.2020
Consultant Physician and Surgeon
Netradham Eye Hospital
Beed, Maharashtra, India
08.2017 - 06.2019
Ophthalmology Resident
G.G.S. Government Hospital
Jamnagar, India
07.2014 - 07.2017
Consultant Physician
Padmaprabhakar Charitable Trust & Rutuswapna Health Foundation
Beed, Maharashtra, India
04.2013 - 06.2014
Education
Physician Scientist Fellowship - Cornea, AI in Ocular Imaging
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
University Of California, Los Angeles06-2023
Clinical and Research Fellowship - Cornea, Ocular Surface,Uveitis, Refractive Surgery
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Los Angeles, USA12.2020
Fellow of International Council of Ophthalmology (FICO) - Advanced Sub-specialty
International Council of Ophthalmology
London, UK11.2019
Certificate of achievements - Course in Genetics and Immunology
Harvard Medical School
11.2018
Master of Surgery (MD) - Ophthalmology Residency
M.P. Shah Medical College And G.G.G. Hospital
Jamnagar, Gujarat, India07.2017
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) - Medical School and Internship
Seth G.S. Medical college and K.E.M. Hospital
Mumbai, India02.2013
Skills
- Clinical research
- Imaging data analysis for deep model training
- Innovation of new quantitative methods to track disease progression with current imaging modalities
- Clinical Data 3D Analysis
- Peer-reviewed publications and manuscript writing
- Artificial intelligence research and ethics in healthcare from a clinician's perspective
- GMP and GLP compliance
- FDA Pre-IND guidelines for new drug development
- Research protocol design and implementation
- Clinical trial management
- Animal disease model surgery and research
- Eye Surgery and imaging data procurement in pre-clinical research animals
- Preventive medicine
Clinical Research Publications
- Rutuja R Unhale; Quantification of corneal stromal scar volume in a mouse corneal wounding model using anterior segment OCT and 3D reconstruction. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2024;65(7):2030
- Micah Vinet, Nathan Siu, Rutuja R Unhale, Clemence Bonnet, Thanachaporn Kittipibul, Corey Arnold, William Speier, Sophie Xiaohui Deng; Deep Learning Model for Segmenting the Epithelial Layer in Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2024;65(7):2394.
- Kittipibul T, Unhale R, Bonnet C, Tseng CH, Deng SX. Comparison of Automated and Manual Measurement of Corneal Epithelial Thickness in Eyes With Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency. Cornea. 2025 Apr 1;44(4):422-426. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000003682. Epub 2024 Aug 27. PMID: 39196902; PMCID: PMC11865354.
- Niruthisard D, Bonnet C, Fung SSM, Unhale R, Tseng CH, Muntham D, Deng SX. Co-existence of Neurotrophic Keratopathy in Eyes With Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency. Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 Nov;267:249-256. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2024.06.022. Epub 2024 Jun 29. PMID: 38945348.
- Gupta K, Unhale R, Garner OB, Deng SX, M Fung SS. Infectious Keratitis Isolates and Susceptibility in Southern California. Cornea. 2022 Sep 1;41(9):1094-1102. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000002884. Epub 2021 Oct 19. PMID: 35315617.
Affiliations
• American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology
• Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology
• Women in Ophthalmology
• All India Ophthalmic Society
• Ocular Trauma Society of India
• Maharashtra Ophthalmic Society
• Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology
• Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology
• Women in Ophthalmology
• All India Ophthalmic Society
• Ocular Trauma Society of India
• Maharashtra Ophthalmic Society
Accomplishments
Burroughs Wellcome Fund (UK) Physician-Scientist Training Award (2021): $150,000 award and 2-year Clinical research Fellowship at UCLA under the mentorship of world-renowned clinical scientists in ophthalmology.
Fellow of International Council of Ophthalmology (2019): Fellowship awarded from ICO based on ophthalmology knowledge and excellence. This honor is awarded only to top rankers of an extremely competitive advanced exam conducted worldwide.
Social Impact through working with 'Doctors in Diaspora' organization during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic and providing free virtual clinic consults for hundreds of patients in India from the United States.
Philanthropy in private practice:
- Free eye screenings in schools (26,000 children screened) over 3 months.
- Free eye surgeries (cornea and cataract) and follow-up checkups for low-income senior citizens
- Free virtual eye clinic visits for patients with debilitating conditions
Fellow of International Council of Ophthalmology (2019): Fellowship awarded from ICO based on ophthalmology knowledge and excellence. This honor is awarded only to top rankers of an extremely competitive advanced exam conducted worldwide.
Social Impact through working with 'Doctors in Diaspora' organization during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic and providing free virtual clinic consults for hundreds of patients in India from the United States.
Philanthropy in private practice:
- Free eye screenings in schools (26,000 children screened) over 3 months.
- Free eye surgeries (cornea and cataract) and follow-up checkups for low-income senior citizens
- Free virtual eye clinic visits for patients with debilitating conditions
Timeline
Medical Co-Director, Chief Operating Officer
Netradham Eye Hospital
07.2024 - 10.2025
Clinician Scientist, Postdoctoral Scholar
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
07.2021 - 06.2024
Assistant Project Scientist
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
01.2021 - 06.2021
Reviewer
Cornea Journal
07.2020 - Current
International Clinical and Research Fellow
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
07.2019 - 12.2020
Consultant Physician and Surgeon
Netradham Eye Hospital
08.2017 - 06.2019
Ophthalmology Resident
G.G.S. Government Hospital
07.2014 - 07.2017
Consultant Physician
Padmaprabhakar Charitable Trust & Rutuswapna Health Foundation
04.2013 - 06.2014
Physician Scientist Fellowship - Cornea, AI in Ocular Imaging
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Clinical and Research Fellowship - Cornea, Ocular Surface,Uveitis, Refractive Surgery
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Fellow of International Council of Ophthalmology (FICO) - Advanced Sub-specialty
International Council of Ophthalmology
Certificate of achievements - Course in Genetics and Immunology
Harvard Medical School
Master of Surgery (MD) - Ophthalmology Residency
M.P. Shah Medical College And G.G.G. Hospital
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) - Medical School and Internship
Seth G.S. Medical college and K.E.M. Hospital