Dr. Gullapalli Rao is the Founder of the LV Prasad Eye Institute, India, as well as being Distinguished Chair of Eye Health at the same institute. He is also Chair of the International Centre for Eyecare Education and past-President and former CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Born in Chodavaram, India, he studied in the Guntur Medical College and then in the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences where he developed particular interests in corneal diseases and community eye health. Dr. Rao continued his training at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, and later at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he was a faculty member until 1986. His areas of specialisation include diseases of the cornea, eye banking and corneal transplantation, community eye health, eye care policy and planning.

Dr Rao has been distinguished with numerous awards and honours: Senior Honour Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology (1998); Member, Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis; Group of 60 top academicians in Ophthalmology in the world (1998-); Doctor of Science honoris causa of the University of New South Wales, Australia (2001); Prof.Y.Nayudamma Gold Medal from the Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (2001); Padma Shri from the Government of India, 2002 (Republic Day Honours given by the President of India); Rustom Merwanji Alpaiwalla Memorial Award from the National Association for the Blind (2003); Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary International (2003); First ‘Global Visionary in Ophthalmology’ Award presented by Bausch & Lomb (2003); Fellow qua Surgeon ad eundem of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2003); HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Award for the Prevention of Blindness Award (2004); Prince Abdulaziz International Prevention of Blindness Award (2005); First “G.B. Bietti International Award for Prevention of Blindness” by the Italian Society for Prevention of Blindness (2005); First “Dr.M.C.Nahata Rashtriya Netra Suraksha Puraskar” from the National Society for Prevention of Blindness, Indore (2005); Pisart Vision Award (2008).