Karen Wai, MD

Karen Wai, MD

Ophthalmology Resident, Class of 2022

Career Plans: Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship at Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University

A native of San Jose, California, Dr. Karen Wai earned her BA cum laude with department honors in Chemistry, as well as a minor in Biology, from Dartmouth College, where she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Scholar. She went on to earn her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Society, CWRU Alpha of Ohio Chapter, and co-leader of the Ophthalmology Interest Group. As a medical student, she worked in the Cleveland Clinic Foundation at Cole Eye Institute contributing to the tracking of management and outcomes for patients with retinal vein occlusions in a multi-center study, and assessing the role of subfoveal choroidal thickness as a prognostic factor for patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration. Additionally, she volunteered her time coordinating monthly Free Vision Clinics for the Greater Cleveland community. Dr. Wai's work has been presented at conferences such as the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, the American Society of Retina Specialists Annual Meeting, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting. Her research has been published in journals such as JAMA Ophthalmology, British Journal of Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology Retina. She has been recognized with the Young Investigator Student Fellowship from Prevent Blindness, an Annual Meeting Travel Grant from ARVO, and the Earl and Shirley Herbst Eye Research Award from Fight for Sight.

Position

Graduating Class