Our TEAM 

Amod Shriram Gogate

Senior Advisor

Optometry is a clinical profession that requires sheer dedication and hard work in order to craft a successful professional career. One of the best examples that embodies this spirit is Optom. Amod Shriram Gogate.

Ken Brandt

Senior Advisor

Ken is the author of Positive Vision: Enjoying the Adventures and Advantages of Poor Eyesight. He has led a fun and adventurous life and had a successful business career despite (or perhaps in part because of!) his poor eyesight.

Vishakh Nair

Senior Advisor

The profession of Optometry in India has seen exceptional contribution from some of the greatest minds of the field. One such personality is the Optometrist Vishakh Niar whose professional career is replete with his illustrious services as a versatile health specialist working at university hospitals and research centers across the world.

Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra

Senior Advisor

Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra is one of the finest optometrists who have significantly contributed to the profession of optometry in Nepal. Mr. Sanjeeb has gathered a number of academic accolades to his name. He is a proactive member of the Nepalese Association of Optometrist (NAO) since 2004 while he also served as the President of NAO from 2014-18.

Prem Kumar Singh

Senior Advisor

Prem Kumar Singh is an expert orthoptist and binocular vision therapist who has been working as a faculty member at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi, India since 1999. He is currently serving as the Head of Department of Optometry Sciences in the same institution. 

Dr. Abhishek Mandal

Founder

Dr. Abhishek Mandal is a Doctorate in Visual Neuroscience from Glasgow Caledonian University. Abhishek has obtained three post-graduate degrees in Vision Science and is a recipient of Gold Medal in Vision Science studies. 

Dr. Rakesh Kotapati Raghupathy

Senior Director

Rakesh Kotapati Raghupathy is Molecular Biologist by training. He got his Doctorate in Vision Sciences from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2015 and post doctorate at Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London (UCL).

Saptarshi Mukherjee

Director of Advanced Studies, India 

Saptarshi completed his Bachelor in Optometry (B.Optom) from University of Technology, West Bengal. After completing B.Optom he enrolled for the fellowship program at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH), New Delhi where he received the best fellow award.

Madeline Harvey-Brown

Head of Optometry, Scotland  

Madeline Harvey-Brown graduated with 1st class honours in Optometry from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2009 and subsequently gained registration with the College of Optometrists in 2010. Madeline is an experienced optometrist and has an active academic and teaching portfolio.

Dr. Deepmala Mazumdar

Editor-In-Chief, Journal of Vision Science and The VSA Blog 

Deepmala Mazumdar is currently pursuing her doctoral research from Dept. of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She has completed her bachelor’s in optometry degree from West Bengal University of Technology (2007-2011).She subsequently joined Elite School of Optometry, Chennai where she completed her post-graduation studies in optometry (M.Phil. Optometry; 2011-2013).

Dr. Timos K. Naskas

Joint Editor & Senior Program Manager, Greece 

Timos graduated with a BSc in Optics and Optometry from the Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece (Now University of Patras). After that, he attended the MSc in Clinical Ophthalmology and Vision Research in Glasgow Caledonian University.

Sepideh Heydar Zadeh

 Training Manager, USA 

Sepideh is a clinical research coordinator staff member at Stein Eye Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. Her main research interest is focused on advanced glaucoma imaging.

Dr. Mukesh Kumar Jha

 Head of Optometry, Nepal 

Dr. Mukesh completed Bachelor in Optometry and Vision Science from University of Technology in 2009. Dr. Mukesh worked as an Optometrist for one year in Janaki Medical College in Nepal. He then moved on to pursuing Doctor in Optometry (OD) from Southwestern University in Philippines.

Bita Heidarzadeh 

Senior Training Manager, Turkey

Somayeh obtained a Master in Optometry degree in 2010 from Bharti Vidyapeeth University. She has been involved in ophthalmic clinical research since 2011. She worked a full-time optometrist at Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran from 2013 to 2017. 

Priyanka Ray 

Educational Engagement Manager

Priyanka completed her Masters in English Literature along with a Bachelor of Education from University of Calcutta. She qualified the National Eligibility Test for Assistant Professor (NET) and was awarded Junior Research Fellowship by University Grants Commission, India.

Ukti Vora 

Senior Program Manager, USA

Ukti Vora is an Indian optometrist, currently based in the USA. She is the Director of Clinical Affairs for an ocular telehealth company and is actively involved in implementing and developing telehealth services for eye care professionals for more than 2 years.

Sourav Basu

Senior Program Manager, East Africa

Sourav Basu is a Post-graduate in Public Health from University of Liverpool, U.K. and Bachelor in Optometry and Vision Science from University of Technology, Kolkata. Sourav is currently the Managing Director of Bose Optical in Kisumu, Kenya.

Manish Panjiyar

Assistant Program Manager & Editorial Support Assistant

Manish Panjiyar graduated in Bachelor of Optometry from Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Medical College, Pune (2013-2017). He successfully completed the IACLE Student Trial Exam and in recognition of contact lens knowledge in 2017. Manish, worked as a Senior Optometrist at Vision Express India, Pune (a joint venture brand between Grand Vision and Reliance Retail) from June-2017 to August-2018 where he was awarded as a best optometrist of the year for 2017.

Maanasi Mahalingam

Editorial Support Assistant

Ms. Maanasi Mahalingam is an Optometrist from India. She completed her Bachelor’s in Optometry (2015-2019) and Master’s in Optometry (2019-2021) at Elite School of Optometry. Currently, she is working as Clinical Optometrist and Optometry Faculty at Aravind Eye Care System, Chennai. She recently completed her prestigious Fellowship in American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) in 2020. Her areas of interest are posterior segment diseases and diagnostics, such as OCT and OCTA, low vision, and image analysis.