Brief Bio
Dr. Sonsino studied at the New England College of Optometry in Boston, where he graduated with research honors. He had the opportunity to spend time at and complete a research poster at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School. Afterward, he completed a highly competitive one-year residency in cornea and contact lenses at Illinois College of Optometry. In Chicago, he worked mainly with the optometrist and ophthalmologists at the prestigious, University of Chicago Medical Center seeing patients with severe corneal diseases. One highlight of his experience there was super-gluing a patient’s cornea closed to save his vision.
After residency, he became faculty at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Eye Institute for 11 years where he lectured around the world, wrote 10 patents on novel ophthalmic devices, authored papers, and became the director of the optometry service. The experience he gained there was the foundation that advanced his standing nationally.
Dr. Jeffrey Sonsino is currently:
- Meeting co-organizer, Scleral Consultative Institute, teaching optometrists from around the country best practices in prescribing scleral lenses, Nashville, TN, Oct 2019
- A diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry’s Cornea and Contact Lens Section. This five year process where the candidate is judged on clinical skills by the top clinicians and researcher in the field is widely regarded as the highest clinical designation in the field of optometry. He is one of only two doctors in TN who have achieved this milestone.
- Past chairman of the American Optometric Association’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section, a board that sets national policy on contact lenses and is the voice of patients on contact lens issues.
- A Fellow in the Scleral Lens Education Society, the premier group made up of the top scleral lens doctors in the world
- A founding member of the Society of Eye Care Specialists, a group of the top contact lens practices in the US who meet quarterly to discuss the latest advancements in the field and how they may benefit patients.
- An advisory board member to over nine companies in eyecare, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and contact lens companies. These relationships often give him access to technologies not available yet on the market.
- An active researcher, completing over 15 clinical studies at Optique, often asking his patients to participate.
- An active lecturer who has been an invited speaker and presenter at every major optometry meeting, both live and virtual.
Certifications
- Diplomate, American Board of Optometry
- Diplomate, Cornea and Contact Lenses, American Academy of Optometry
- Fellow, Scleral Lens Education Society
Recent Leadership and Honors
- Society of Eyecare Specialists, charter member
- Past-President, Middle Tennessee Optometric Physician’s Society
- Emeretus Board Member, Alliance for Patient Safety
- Board Member, Innovation Council, American Academy of Optometry
Recent Awards
- 2019 Rodger Kame Contact Lens Award, American Optometric Association
- 2018 Nashville Scene- named in “Best Of” Optometrists category
- 2018 Optometrist of the Year, Tennessee Optometric Association
- 2017 Practitioner of the Year, Gas Permeable Lens Institute
- 2017 Advocacy Award, American Optometric Association
Recent Publications
- What are Those Online Retailers Up To? Read Article
- Optometry in the Age of Disruption: Doctors vs. Online VendorsRead Article
- Central Vault In Dry Eye Patients Successfully Wearing Scleral Lens Read Article
- Is That Infiltrate Sterile or Infectious? Read Article
- The Evolution of Keratoconus Care. Read Article
- Keeping Hybrids in Focus, Tips for Successful Fitting of Hybrid Lenses for Both Normal and Irregular Corneas. Read Article
- Billing and Coding for Specialty Custom Contact Lenses. Read Article
- The Continuum of Care in Keratoconus: From Spectacles to Contact Lenses, to Surgery, What Care is Most Beneficial at Each Stage of this Progressive Disease. Read Article
- Poster presentation: Proposed Method to Eliminate Debris in the Post Lens Tear Resevoir: Case Report Read Article
Recent Lectures
“Optometry in the Age of Disruptors: How Good Doctors Compete with Bad Companies” presented at the annual meeting of the AOA, St. Louis, MO, June 2019
“How to Survive Audit of Medically Necessary Contact Lenses by Medical Insurers” presented with Richard Hom, OD and Craig Steinberg, OD, JD at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium, Las Vegas, NV, Jan 2018
“A Different View: Using OCT to Evaluate Contact Lenses”
presented at SECO Mar, 2017
“Hybrids and Scleral Lens Learning Lab”
presented at SECO Mar, 2017
“The Continuum of Care in Keratoconus: From Spectacles to Contact Lenses to Surgery” presented with Barry Eiden and Ed Bennett at the Annual Meeting of the AOA, June, 2017
“Specialty Lenses for Specialty Cases” presented at the Annual Meeting of the AOA, June, 2017
“Advances in Multifocal Contact Lenses” presented with the CLCS Council at the Annual Meeting of the AOA, June, 2017
“Continuum of Care in Keratoconus” presented at the NOVA Southeastern University Continuing Education Weekend, Orlando, FL, Dec 2017
“Adventures in Anterior Segment OCT” presented at the NOVA Southeastern University Continuing Education Weekend, Orlando, FL, Dec 2017
Areas of Expertise
- Advanced Contact Lenses.
- Management of Complex Eye Problems such as Keratoconus, post-surgical complications and eyes that have had trauma.
- Primary Eyecare
- Dry Eye
Dr. Sonsino spends most of his patient care time designing contact lenses for patients with corneal conditions, dry eye, and surgical complications. He has access to many customized lenses that are not available in other practices in the US. This includes custom soft lenses all the way to custom molded scleral lenses. When new technology becomes viable, Dr. Sonsino has either tested it in clinical studies or evaluated it with his patients before it is brought to market.
