Professional Education, Practice, and Affiliations
Preeti J. Shah, M.D., is a respected ophthalmic surgeon, humanitarian, and co-director of Netrapuja Eye Care and Research Centre in Mumbai, where she serves alongside her husband and partner in service, Dr. Janak Shah. Guided by a lifelong passion for medicine and deeply rooted values of compassion and social responsibility, Dr. Shah has dedicated her career to restoring sight and expanding access to quality eye care in India and across the developing world.
Dr. Shah is deeply grateful for the guidance of her revered and accomplished mentors. She graduated from Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, and completed her ophthalmology residency at the esteemed King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. She also extends her sincere gratitude to Surgical Eye Expedition International for providing opportunities to fulfill her humanitarian aspirations.
With a passion for teaching, Dr. Shah has been a strong advocate for Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) and has conducted 10 MSICS wet labs at renowned institutes like New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Royal College of Ophthalmology in the UK. Her focus to equip young surgeons with the skills needed to serve in resource-limited settings and has helped expand access to sight-restoring surgery in remote and underserved communities, where high-cost technology is not always feasible.
For more than 20 years, she and Dr. Janak Shah have served as visiting consultants at PNR Hospital in Bhavnagar, supporting a comprehensive and inclusive eye care model especially for differently-abled children. Despite the intensity of surgical missions, she remains inspired by the moment a patient first opens their eyes after surgery which is a moment she describes as timeless, renewing, and the source of her enduring passion for ophthalmology.
For Dr. Shah, ophthalmology is more than a profession, but rather a lifelong devotion to humanity. She continues to champion early intervention, community awareness, and the empowerment of local medical teams, believing that every act of service creates a ripple of transformation far greater than the one who serves may ever fully see.
Service with SEE International
Dr. Shah has been a dedicated SEE volunteer eye surgeon since 2002. She contributes her time and expertise as an instructor for education courses and surgical programs around the world. She has participated in 132 programs to date, serving communities in Brazil, China, Fiji, India, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru, and the United States.
Global & Local Health Initiatives
“To give pleasure to a single heart by a simple act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” This philosophy lies at the heart of Dr. Preeti Shah’s life and work. Guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change you wish to see in the universe,” she chose humanitarian surgical eye missions as her platform to empower through education and to restore sight, hope, and dignity to communities worldwide.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Active Roles and Recognitions
- SEE International (USA) Award for 100 Humanitarian Missions, 2019
- MSICS Course Instructor, SEE International, Santa Barbara, USA, 2019
- MSICS Course Instructor, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 2018
- MSICS Course Instructor, SEE International, Santa Barbara, USA, 2018
- International Hero Award, All India Ophthalmology Society, 2017
- Humanitarian of the Year Award, SEE International, USA, 2017
- MSICS Course Instructor, Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK, 2017
- MSICS Course Instructor, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, 2017
- MSICS Course Instructor, SEE International, Santa Barbara, USA, 2017
- International Hero Award, All India Ophthalmological Society, 2016
- Certificate of Appreciation, BA Vision, Fiji
- Certificate of Appreciation, Clinica Oftalmologica de la Selva
- Certificate of Appreciation, Fu Shou Tang Eye Hospital, Ling Bao, China
- Certificate of Appreciation, Shri Bhojay Sarvodaya Trust, Kutch, India
- Certificate of Appreciation, Smt. Parasben Narandas Ramji Shah Society for Relief and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, Bhavnagar, India
- Certificate of Appreciation, Baba Lokenath Trust, Siliguri, India
- Speaker, Sociedad Peruana de Oftalmología, Trujillo, Peru
- Certificate of Appreciation, Virtue Foundation, New York (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
- MSICS Course Instructor, SEE International, Santa Barbara, USA, 2006
- MSICS Course Instructor, under the aegis of Sociedad Peruana de Oftalmología, Lima, 2006
- IAPB Vision Excellence Award, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), 2020
- Recognized by The Ophthalmologist as one of the most influential female figures in ophthalmology, Power List, 2021
- Speaker, XVI Congreso Regional de Oftalmología and XVII Congreso de Prevención de Ceguera, Peru, September 5–7, 2019
- MSICS Training for Students, Medical Hospital, Khovd, Mongolia, May 12–18, 2023
- Speaker, East–West International Conference, Ufa, Russia, June 1–2, 2023
- MSICS Introduction for Medical Graduate Students, Medical University of Ufa, June 3, 2023