Dr. Vinay A. Shah, MD

A native of India, Dr. Shah completed an extensive educational and training process there, including a residency in ophthalmology and a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery. In 2002, he moved to the United States, where he was engaged in pre-residency fellowship experiences in vitreoretinal diseases and neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Florida – Jacksonville and University of Iowa respectively. As a resident in ophthalmology at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), Dr. Shah performed in stellar fashion, serving as Chief Resident during his final year and being recognized with a special award as “The Best Resident Ever” for his contributions as a “Leader, Educator, Researcher, and Clinician.”

After his fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the Kresge Eye Institute/Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Shah joined the faculty at DMEI/OU in 2011 and has distinguished himself as a respected leader as well as a highly productive and innovative clinician and surgeon with a particular interest in treating complex surgical retinal pathology. Dr. Shah has served as author or co-author for more than 90 publications and book chapters, addressing a large number of topics in his scholarly work. These include observations regarding vitreoretinal disease; techniques in vitreoretinal surgery; posterior ischemic optic neuropathy, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and other neuro-ophthalmologic disorders; resident surgical training in vitreoretinal surgery and refractive surgery; infections of the eye; and the use of smartphones in ophthalmology.

As an educator, Dr. Shah is widely recognized for his work as one of the creators of the Eye Handbook, a mobile comprehensive ophthalmology diagnostic reference and educational product developed for smartphones. With millions of downloads, this has become a highly popular smartphone ophthalmology application for ophthalmologists in training and in practice. In addition, Dr. Shah has directed a long-running, highly popular instructional course at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meetings on the use of smartphones in ophthalmic practice since 2012, a nearly record run. He also has served as Senior Editor for the International Ophthalmology Section of Pearls in Ophthalmology, an internet publication with tens of thousands of page views.

Even while a fellow at the Kresge Eye Institute, Dr. Shah became the founding Section Editor for Retina/Vitreous for the AAO’s EyeWiki, which was launched in July 2010. For his Academy service, Dr. Shah was honored with an AAO Achievement Award in 2010, a Secretariat Award in 2015, and a Senior Achievement Award in 2017. For his contributions to the scientific programs of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), Dr. Shah received its Honor Award in 2005 and its Senior Honor Award in 2007 (the latter while he was still a resident). In 2019, Dr. Shah was the inaugural recipient of the Amalia M. Miranda, MD Special Recognition Award at DMEI /OU. He has also been repeatedly named among the Best Doctors in America.

Given his exceptional skills as a clinician, surgeon, educator, scholar, innovator, and leader, he was honored to be the first individual to hold the Thelma Gaylord Endowed Chair. Dr Shah is an Examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology since 2020. In 2023 Dr. Shah was invited to be the section editor for Part V: Vitreoretinal Surgery 4rth edition of Basic Techniques of Ophthalmic Surgery (BTOS) textbook to be published in 2025 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

At DMEI/OU, Dr. Shah was actively engaged with Ophthalmology residents and vitreoretinal fellow education. He became the Retina Fellowship Director in 2017. He expanded the retina fellowship program from one to two fellows. In 2018, he was the recipient of the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Faculty Honor Award. Dr. Shah was elected by his peers to serve as a Member-at-Large on the DMEI Executive Committee from 2017-2022.

Dr. Shah’s wife, Dr. Kanan Shah, is a family physician. Their daughter, Simren, is currently studying at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Their younger daughter, Semony, is at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.

Dr. Shah sees patients and is accepting new patients at the North OKC, South OKC, and Lawton offices. Dr. Shah will also be seeing patients and doing surgery at the Dean McGee Eye Institute while educating the next generation of ophthalmologists.