Dr Santosh G. Honavar Tops the Stanford List of Researchers in Ophthalmology for Career-long Impact

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Sept 26, 2025 : Dr. Santosh G. Honavar, Honorary Secretary of the All-India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS), Director of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery and Ocular Oncology at Centre for Sight Eye Hospital, Hyderabad, former Associate Director of LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, and the past Editor of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, has yet again emerged as the top-ranked Ophthalmology researcher from India. 

For the fifth consecutive year, Dr Honavar has secured the number one position in the annual impact ranking and, for the first time, has also topped the career-long impact ranking in Ophthalmology from India. A panel of experts from Stanford University and Elsevier announced the prestigious lifetime and annual global rankings for 2025. The rankings feature the top 2% of researchers worldwide, based on the influence and impact of their work, both career-long and during the year 2024.

Dr Santosh G. Honavar is an internationally renowned ophthalmologist with expertise in eye cancers, and his illustrious career has earned him accolades such as the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award from the Government of India and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is the sole ophthalmologist from the Indian subcontinent to receive the Honorary Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in the UK. Dr Santosh G. Honavar also holds the second position in the Stanford List based on his lifelong contributions to the field. He has over 17000 citations and a high H-index of 69.

Dr. Partha Biswas, the President of AIOS, extended his congratulations to the Indian researchers featured in the Stanford list. He highlighted AIOS's commitment to promoting Indian research through its Journals (Indian Journal of Ophthalmology and IJO Case Reports), scientific activities, and research as part of the Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to support and nurture the research potential of Indian ophthalmologists. He expressed optimism about witnessing more young Indian ophthalmologists making their mark on the Stanford list soon. The consistent rise in representation of Indian Ophthalmology in such prestigious global lists reflects the growing trajectory of high-quality research across the country and it underlines the strength of our institutions, the dedication of our researchers, and India’s emergence as a global leader in ophthalmology and vision sciences, Dr Biswas emphasised.

There are 27 Indian Ophthalmologists who are part of the list of the top 2% of researchers in the world in terms of career-long impact. Sixty-one Indian Ophthalmologists figure in the list of the top 2% of world researchers, considering the impact of their work in 2024.  This year’s list includes eminent Ophthalmology researchers from across India, representing leading institutions such as LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad (17 researchers); Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi (12); Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai (5); Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai (4); Narayana Nethralaya, Bengaluru (4); Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Chennai (3); Centre for Sight, Hyderabad (2); and PGIMER, Chandigarh (2), among others.

The Top 10 in the Stanford 2025 list for career-long impact are: 1. Santosh G. Honavar, 2. Gullapalli N. Rao, 3. Philip Aloysius Thomas, 4. Virender S. Sangwan, 5. Savitri Sharma, 6. Muthiah K. Srinivasan, 7. D. Balasubramanian, 8. Amod Gupta, 9. GVS Murthy, and 10. Mohd Javed Ali

The top 10 Indian researchers in ophthalmology included in the 2025 Stanford list are: 1. Santosh G. Honavar, 2. Mohammad Javed Ali, 3. Swathi Kaliki, 4. GVS Murthy, 5. Savitri Sharma, 6. Namrata Sharma, 7. Vinod Kumar, 8. Philip Aloysius Thomas, 9. Virender S. Sangwan, and 10. Dr. Prashant Garg

All India Ophthalmological Society is the world's second-largest professional organisation of Ophthalmologists, with over 26000 members.