Meet Dr. Veena Shiva Rao

Dr. Veena Rao is an ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon specializing in glaucoma and cataracts. A native North Carolinian, she earned her Bachelor’s degree with Distinction in Biology and English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following college, she completed a Master’s degree in Biology at Oxford University in the United Kingdom before specializing in medicine at Yale Medical School, graduating with Honors. She then returned to North Carolina for her residency in ophthalmology and fellowship in glaucoma at the Duke Eye Center at the Duke University School of Medicine. For her surgical skill during her ophthalmology training, she earned the K. Alexander Dastgheib, MD, Eye Surgery award, which recognizes a Duke ophthalmologist who demonstrates excellence in eye surgery. She has a special research interest in glaucoma surgical technique as well as patient education and medical adherence; she has published and presented her work in these areas nationally.

Prior to joining CEENTA, Dr. Rao served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, working primarily at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, Massachusetts. During that time, she also served as a consultant in glaucoma for the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Dana Farber Cancer Center. Dr. Rao is an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, where she serves on the Annual Meeting Committee for Glaucoma. She is also an active member of the American Glaucoma society and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Dr. Rao is happy to be back in North Carolina. When she isn’t practicing medicine, she enjoys cooking, baking, traveling, and gardening. Dr. Rao practices in our Matthews and Monroe offices.