Dr. Khorram receives national recognition

Marianas Eye Institute is pleased to announce that its director, Dr. David Khorram, has been listed in “Guide to America’s Top Ophthalmologists.” The Consumer Research Council of America, a Washington, D.C.-based research group, identifies top doctors in a variety of specialties. Dr. Khorram is among a select few to have earned this prestigious recognition.

“I am very honored to be recognized as one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” said Dr. Khorram. “I am fortunate to work with such an exceptionally talented group of people at Marianas Eye Institute. They support excellence and seek to provide the highest quality of eye care in every way. They make it easy to be your best, so this national recognition belongs to them as well,” he added.

Dr. Khorram, a resident of Saipan since 1993, is the co-founder and director of Marianas Eye Institute. He is the CNMI’s only ophthalmologist, or “Eye MD”—a medical doctor with additional specialized training in all aspects of eye care: optical, medical, surgical and laser.

Born in Iran, his family immigrated to the United States when he was two years old. He grew up in a small Appalachian town in Kentucky, where his father still serves as a pediatrician.

Dr. Khorram graduated high school Cum Laude from Lake Forest Academy, and attended Northwestern University in Chicago. There he earned a Bachelors of Arts degree with honors, double majoring in Comparative Religion and Biological Sciences. He returned to his home state for medical school, and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in the top 10 percent of his class. He received his degree “With High Distinction” and was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. While attending medical school he received the Lange Medical Publication Award, and was the College of Medicine’s nominee for the Robinson Humanitarian Award for his work as a medical student with medically underserved rural populations.

After finishing his medical degree, Dr. Khorram completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago, and then returned to Northwestern University to pursue his training in Ophthalmology.

There he trained with the world’s foremost experts in the fields of diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, retinal disease, cataract surgery and pediatric eye disease. During this time he cared for patients at the Northwestern University Medical Faculty Foundation, the Lakeside Veteran’s Affairs Hospital, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Children’s Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

A board certified ophthalmologist, Dr. Khorram scored in the highest 1 percent of ophthalmologists in the nation on his board certification exam.

“This was a very exciting time, and although Northwestern University offered me a position after I completed my training, my heart was in serving a community that needed an ophthalmologist,” said Dr. Khorram. “I had always wanted to serve internationally, so I sent letters all over the world, and ended up in the Pacific.”

Dr. Khorram spent one year as the Director of Ophthalmology at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago, American Samoa, before coming to the CNMI. For his first five years on Saipan, he worked at the Commonwealth Health Center, before co-founding Marianas Eye Institute in 1998, which has become a regional leader in eye care.

Dr. Khorram has published scientific articles in renowned international journals such as Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmic Surgery and Lasers. His publications span a broad range of topics including diabetic eye disease, neurological disease, pediatric glaucoma, corneal disease, tumors of the eye, eye surgery in developing nations, and inflammatory conditions of the eye. His research has been presented at international conferences, and he has lectured widely. He has volunteered his services throughout the Pacific. Dr. Khorram and his wife, Mara, have four children and are the founders of Brilliant Star School on Navy Hill. They are active members of the Bahá’í Faith.

“It is an honor to be recognized as one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” said Dr. Khorram, “It’s a pleasure to serve this wonderful community. I’m lucky to be doing what I love and to be doing it with the exceptionally talented people at Marianas Eye Institute. I look forward to serving the peoples of the Marianas Islands for years to come.”

Dr. David Khorram, and his associate, Dr. Mark Robertson, provide complete eye and vision care at Marianas Eye Institute on Beach Road Garapan, 235-9090. (PR)