Our Team
Puneet Panda, M.D.
Ophthalmologist
Member, American Academy of Ophthalmology
Member, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
Dr. Panda's Specialties
About Dr. Panda
Dr. Panda always wanted to be a doctor. “My aunt was a physician. My earliest memories are of meeting her in the hospital cafeteria for mac and cheese,” Dr. Panda says. “I liked being in the medical environment.” He says he “always had an inclination toward medicine,” but when it came time for college, his father – a Cornell man and a material science engineer – was adamant that Dr. Panda follow in the family footsteps. “My dad really wanted me to pursue engineering, but my passion was medicine. However, I actually really appreciate my engineering background because it gave me a problem solving approach that I use in my practice now,” Dr. Panda says.Today, Dr. Panda specializes in corneal transplants (including DSEK and DMEK), dry eye, comprehensive oph-thalmology and refractive cataract surgery, including use of Femtosecond Laser Assisted Cataract surgery (FLACS).But he wasn’t always interested in the eye. His first thought was to pursue pediatric cardiology, but after shadowing an ophthalmologist, he was hooked. “Each eye held different pathology, and I was fascinated by the fact that looking into the eye provided a direct window to the patient’s medical ailments – from diabetes to hypertension to cancer.” When he isn’t seeing patients, Dr. Panda can be found playing tennis on nearby courts, watching comedy and historical movies, indulging in architecture and interior design, and exploring the Atlanta area with his wife and children.Education & Training
2014 – 2015
Wilmer Eye Institute – Baltimore, MD
Johns Hopkins Hospital – Cornea Clinical Fellow
2011 – 2014
Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
Ophthalmology Residency Program – Chief Resident
2010 – 2011
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Mercy Hospital – Transitional Year Resident
2005 – 2010
State University of New York at Buffalo
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
2001 – 2005
Cornell University, College of Engineering
Cum laude with Honors in Research
B.S. Biological and Environmental Engineering
Concentration in Biomedical Engineering
Organizations
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
- Student Sight Savers
Specialties
Intraocular surgery
Cataract extraction with Premium IOL, Secondary IOL, Sutured IOL
Complicated anterior segment surgery
Anterior segment reconstruction, Cornea/Sclera laceration and ruptured globe repair
Ocular surface treatment and surgery
Dry eye disease, Pterygium excision with amniotic membrane graft, Conjunctiva and Cornea biopsy
Refractive and Cornea surgery
Intralase, LASIK, PRK, PTK, ICL
Penetrating Keratoplasty, Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty, Lamellar Keratoplasty
Honors & Awards
Chief Resident – Ophthalmology Residency Program Mount Sinai Hospital
2013 – 2014
National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Training Program Fellow
2008 – 2009
Alpha Epsilon Honors Society
Member since 2004
Learning Initiatives for Future Engineers
Intel Corporation Grant Recipient, Fall 2004 – Spring 2005
Dean’s Letter of Commendation – Cornell University College of Engineering
2002 – 2005
New York State Symphonic Music Association (NYSSMA)
Conference All State Orchestra (violin) 1999 – 2001
Area All State Orchestra (violin) 1997 – 2001
More About Puneet Panda, M.D.
Research Experience
2008 – 2010
Laboratory of Immunology – National Eye Institute
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Mentor: Robert B. Nussenblatt, M.D.
Projects: Genetic Basis of Ocular Inflammatory Disease, HLA associations in Sarcoidosis, Ocular Course of Neonatal Onset Multisystem Inflammatory Disease (NOMID) with Anakinra Therapy
2006 (summer)
Challa – Epstein Lab, Duke University
Duke University Eye Center, Durham, NC
Mentor: Pratap Challa, M.D.
Projects: Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomer guided gene knockdown in vitro in trabecular meshwork cells; Optimization of gene transfer to whole lens organ cultures
2003 – 2005
DeLisa Research Group
Cornell University, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ithaca, NY
Mentor: Matthew P. DeLisa, Ph.D.
Project: Manipulating the Tat system in E. coli to develop an in vivo fluorescent screen that detects protein-protein interactions in the periplasmic space
2002 (summer)
Martin Research Lab
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Sciences, Ithaca, NY
Mentor: Gregory B. Martin, Ph.D.
Project: Examining plant hormonal response to pathways in benthamiana
Publications
Panda, P., Forooghian, F, Goodglick, T, Chan, CC, Nussenblatt, R, Sen, HN. Orbital lymphoma masquerading as panuveitis. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2010 Jun;18(3):181-3.
Ferullo, J., Ruggles, K., Lokchander, B., Siryk, C., Panda, P., The Risks of LASIK Corrective Eye Surgery: A Mass Transfer Approach to a Universal Concern. Cornell University D-Space Reports at Cornell University Libraries. June 2004
Oral Presentations
Cornea Grand Rounds – Johns Hopkins University 2014 – 2015
Grand Rounds Mount Sinai Ophthalmology Department 2011-2014
The Clinical Course of Ocular Disease in Neonatal Onset Multisystem Inflammatory Disease After Anakinra Therapy. National Eye Institute Grand Rounds, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, June 2009
Genetic Associations in Ocular Inflammatory Disease: Inflammatory Gene Upregulation in a Laser-induced Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV) mouse model. Laboratory of Immunology Data Club, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, May 2009
NIH Clinical Research Training Program. Pfizer Medical Futures Forum sponsored by Pfizer, Inc. New York, New York, March 2009
Clinical Research Training Program Journal Seminar “Statistical Testing,” National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, September 2008
Poster Presentations
Impact of Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM) versus White-to-White (WTW) measurement on sizing of Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) and Residual Postoperative Refraction. Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Seattle, Washington, May 2013
Inflammatory Gene Expression in a Laser-induced Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV) mouse model. Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, May 2009
The Genetic Basis of Ocular Inflammatory Disease. Medical Futures Forum sponsored by Pfizer, Inc. New York, New York, March 2009
Fluorescent Reporters of Protein Transport. Cornell University Honors Symposium, Ithaca, New York, April 2005
Monomeric Red Fluorescent Protein as a Novel Fluorescent Reporter of Protein Transport. 10th Annual Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE) Meeting, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, March 2005
Exploring Tat – E. coli’s Powerful Protein Export Machinery. Bio-Expo at Cornell University, March 2004
2013 – 2014
Chief Resident, Mount Sinai Department of Ophthalmology
Program Director: Donna Gagliuso, M.D.
2006 – 2007
Co-president, Student Sight Savers, University at Buffalo
Advisor: Charles Niles, M.D.
2002 – 2005
Resident Advisor, Cornell University Community Development
2003 – 2004
Teaching Assistant, Introductory Autotutorial Biology 105 & 106
Professor: Tyson Sacco, PhD, Cornell University
2002 – 2005
College Ambassador, Cornell University College of Engineering
2016 – Present
Marietta Eye Clinic
Surgical Associate
2015 – 2016
Danbury Eye Physicians and Surgeons
Surgical Associate
Locations
