Puja Patel

Senior Medical Director

2024 - Current

Senior Medical Director

2023 - 2024

Medical Director

2020 - 2023

Optometrist

2018 - 2020

• Diagnose, manage, and treat refractive errors, allergic conjunctivitis, glaucoma, dry eye, and keratoconus • Educate and discuss disease management, prevention, and treatment with patients • Formulate strategies to increase revenue growth and improve diagnostic tools for Optometrists • Fit patients in contact lenses – including soft, hard, RGP, and other specialty lenses • Attend annual AOA conference for educational and networking purposes

Chief Executive Officer

2017 - 2019

• Accepted to YCombinator accelerator program and received venture capital funding • Created a virtual coaching company connecting mothers to professional coaches • Created and presented a complex business plan concisely to over 1000 investors • Established relationships with professionals and recruited them onto business platform • Attended biweekly networking events with YCombinator’s top company CEO’s - Strategized financial and marketing plans for the business - Led a team of independent contractors and staff

S17 Batch

2017 - 2017

Owner/Optometrist

2012 - 2017

• Diagnosed and managed ocular pathologies such as dry eye, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration • Communicated and co-managed pre and postop cataract surgery - Obtained AScans prior to surgery • Diagnosed, treated, and managed glaucoma patients using Humphrey visual field and Stratus OCT - Treated patients with various ophthalmic topical agents and monitored intraocular pressures every 3 months • Worked alongside with corneal ophthalmologist for minor laser procedures - Primarily laser peripheral iridotomy and YAG posterior capsulotomy - Managed and treated post-operative patients • Led and participated in quarterly journal clubs with fellow optometrists, opticians, and optometric technicians • Manage daily practice operations, including bookkeeping, purchasing and employee management. - Sustained revenue growth 40% annually

Optometrist

2010 - 2016

Provided medical-based ocular examinations in a multi-MD practice - Worked in conjunction with corneal, retinal, glaucoma and oculo-plastic ophthalmologists to diagnose, treat, and manage ocular pathology - Obtained B-Scans for retinal pathology, narrow angles, and questionable anterior segment melanomas - Dry eye treatment and management using various techniques such as punctual plugs, Prokeras, Intense Pulse Light therapy, and serum tears - Co-managed cataracts, PRK/LASIK, DSEK, DMEK, Intacs, and PTK - Treated corneal diseases such as Pseudomonas, Acanthamoeba, Ocular Pemphigoid, and fungal keratitis via blood work, cultures and corneal module Served as the primary clinical supervisor for 4th year Optometry students during externship Obtained expertise in specialty contact lens fitting for irregular corneas - Worked with various lens types, such as Jupiter, Rose K, Synergeyes Ultrahealth and Clearkone Provided strategic direction to help grow the business and managed optical sales and schedule Attended annual AOA conference for educational and networking purposes