Vinay Kumar Aakalu, MD, MPH, Named Chair of the MCW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Milwaukee, Oct. 16, 2025 – The Medical College of Wisconsin is pleased to announce the appointment of Vinay Kumar Aakalu, MD, MPH, tenured professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School, as chair of the MCW Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, effective June 1, 2026.

Dr. Aakalu serves as Section Leader and Medical Director of the Eye Plastics, Orbital, and Facial Cosmetic Surgery division at the Kellogg Eye Center. He also directs the Ocular Surface Disease Research Program and is an Associate Preceptor for the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASOPRS)-approved fellowship program.

Dr. Aakalu earned his BA in Neuroscience from The Johns Hopkins University, followed by an MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Columbia University. He completed his residency and fellowship training in ophthalmology and oculoplastic surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he later held multiple academic and leadership roles, including founding director of the Illinois Center for Thyroid Eye Disease and the Illinois Center for Ophthalmic Drug and Diagnostic Development.

A nationally and internationally recognized clinician-scientist, Dr. Aakalu’s clinical interests include multidisciplinary care of thyroid eye disease, orbital neoplastic conditions, and innovations in oculoplastic surgery. His research focuses on ocular surface disease, corneal wound healing, and translational therapeutics for rare diseases such as Niemann-Pick Type C. He has received substantial NIH and DOD funding and holds multiple patents related to peptide-based therapies and regenerative medicine.

Dr. Aakalu has authored more than 95 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to several book chapters. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and is a Silver Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He is also actively involved in mentoring across all levels of education and has served on numerous national committees, including the American Board of Ophthalmology and ASOPRS. He contributes service to a variety of other organizations, including grant review panels for the NIH, VA, and NSF. He also serves as an Associate Editor for Translational Vision Science and Technology and on the editorial boards of multiple other journals in the field.