Narsing A. Rao, MD, was named Interim Dean of the Keck School, effective Sept. 16, 2020. He also is the Grace and Emery Beardsley Professor of Ophthalmology. Before accepting the position of Interim Dean, Dr. Rao was Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and Co-Director of the USC Roski Eye Institute.

Dr. Rao has established himself as a researcher, clinician and educator who has gained international recognition as a leading expert in inflammatory and malignant disorders of the eye. He has made numerous important scientific contributions to the field and has published more than 500 peer-reviewed publications, 49 book chapters and seven books. His work has attracted highly competitive funding from the National Eye Institute of the NIH for more than 25 years.

In June 2020 Dr. Rao received the International Gold Award of Chinese Ophthalmological Society, and in September 2020 he was featured in the Living Legend Series of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.

Other honors include the Lorenz E. Zimmerman medal from the American Academy of Ophthalmology; the Ramon L. Font medal from the Pan American Society of Ophthalmology; the International Ocular Inflammation Society Award; and the Bietti medal from the International Council of Ophthalmology.

Under Dr. Rao’s leadership, in FY2019, the USC Department of Ophthalmology ranked No. 1 among all ophthalmology departments nationally in NIH funding, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Five faculty members in the department ranked among the top 55 NIH-funded researchers. The Department has been nationally ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Hospitals” for 26 consecutive years (ranking 12th in 2020).
During his tenure as chair, Rao oversaw a significant increase in clinical productivity, opened the first Dry Eye Center in Southern California, and integrated research and clinical care.

Dr. Rao received USC’s award for excellence in resident training 15 times and has mentored 25 postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty.

Rao received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India. He completed residencies in pathology and ophthalmology at Georgetown University and a fellowship in ophthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.., and was appointed to his first faculty position at Georgetown. Rao was recruited to the Keck School of Medicine in 1983 as an associate professor of ophthalmology and pathology. He was promoted to professor of ophthalmology and pathology in 1986, and from 2006-2013 held an endowed chair as the Rupert and Gertrude I. Stieger Vision Research Professor within the Doheny Eye Institute.