In this high-tech, digital age, over 75% of patients are now searching for health information online. The internet has become the modern exam room. As a practicing eye surgeon who is also active on social media, I am passionate about eye health education and sharing medical information in a way that is easy to understand, sometimes fun, and always backed by science and evidence-based medicine. I am honored to be a member of the Medical Review Board for Verywell and fully support its mission to bring trustworthy, practical, and up-to-date health information to millions of people worldwide.
Dagny Zhu, MD, practices as Owner and Medical Director of Hyperspeed LASIK (an NVISION company) in her hometown of Rowland Heights, California, in the heart of San Gabriel Valley. As a key opinion leader in advanced laser vision correction and premium cataract surgery, Dr. Zhu serves as a medical advisor to multiple ophthalmic companies and has been featured in over 200 lectures, presentations, publications, and press features, including The Today Show, Huffington Post, InStyle, Yahoo News, NBC News, and CNN.
Dr. Zhu also serves as a volunteer attending physician at the Los Angeles County + USC Department of Ophthalmology and clinical preceptor for the Marshall B. Ketchum University/School of Optometry and Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine, teaches and supervises students and doctors in training. She also serves as an admissions interviewer for Harvard College. In addition, Dr. Zhu sits on the editorial board of major ophthalmology publications, lectures to peers nationally and worldwide, and leads cutting-edge clinical research studies on the latest intraocular lens technologies. She holds several leadership positions and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Refractive Surgery Alliance, and the Cornea Society.
In addition to laser vision correction and cataract surgery, Dr. Zhu performs all surgeries on the anterior segment, including Implantable Contact Lens (ICL), corneal transplantation, cross-linking, and INTACS for keratoconus, and pterygium surgery. She has published numerous scientific journal articles and book chapters on advanced corneal transplantation techniques, infectious keratitis, femtosecond laser, and presbyopia-correcting lens technologies.
Notably, Dr. Zhu has garnered a large social media presence as a podcast co-host and healthcare influencer (50k+ followers on Instagram @DZEyeMD), where she promotes health and science, champions for women and people of color, and provides inspiration and mentorship to the next generation.
Dr. Zhu was born in Shanghai, China, and immigrated to the United States with her working-class parents at 3. As a Southern California native, Dr. Zhu graduated top of her high school class as valedictorian and attended UCLA on a full-tuition Regents scholarship (the highest award granted in the UC system). She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in molecular, cell, and developmental biology.
Dr. Zhu received her MD from Harvard Medical School, where she discovered her love for ophthalmology and performed cutting-edge research on corneal immunology at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. As a medical student, she co-founded the Medical Mandarin course for doctors-in-training and embarked on a medical mission with Operation Burns in Mumbai, India, where she worked alongside plastic surgeons to treat burn victims with debilitating skin and eyelid contractures. Dr. Zhu then returned to Southern California to complete her ophthalmology residency at the prestigious Doheny Eye Institute/University of Southern California (USC) & Los Angeles County Medical Center, where she served a predominantly Latino community and cared for the sickest patients at one of the largest public hospitals in the country. Described as a “gifted surgeon” by her mentors, Dr. Zhu elected to complete fellowship training in cornea and refractive surgery at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the #1 eye hospital in the world.
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