MEET YOUR SURGEON: DAGNY ZHU, M.D.

Dr. Zhu is a Harvard-educated, board-certified ophthalmologist who specializes in cornea, cataract, and laser refractive surgery. She was born in Shanghai, China and immigrated to the United States with her working-class parents at the age of 3. As a Southern California native, Dr. Zhu graduated top of her high school class as valedictorian and attended UCLA on a full-tuition Regents scholarship (the highest award granted in the UC system) where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in molecular, cell, and developmental biology.

Dr. Zhu received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School where she discovered her love for ophthalmology and performed cutting-edge research on corneal immunology at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. As a medical student, she co-founded the Medical Mandarin course for doctors-in-training and embarked on a medical mission with Operation Burns in Mumbai, India where she worked alongside plastic surgeons to treat burn victims with debilitating skin and eyelid contractures. Dr. Zhu then returned to Southern California to complete her ophthalmology residency at the prestigious Doheny Eye Institute/University of Southern California (USC) + Los Angeles County Medical Center, where she served a predominantly Latino community and cared for the sickest patients at one of the largest public hospitals in the country. Described as a “gifted surgeon” by her mentors, Dr. Zhu elected to complete fellowship training in cornea and refractive surgery at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the #1 eye hospital in the world.

In addition to laser vision correction and laser cataract surgery, Dr. Zhu treats all diseases of the anterior segment including corneal transplantation, cross-linking and intacs for keratoconus, and pterygium surgery. She has published several scientific journal articles and book chapters on advanced corneal transplantation techniques, corneal endothelial disease,  infectious keratitis, and femtosecond laser technology. She is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the Cornea Society. Dr. Zhu has come full-circle and now practices as a managing partner at Hyperspeed LASIK (an NVISION company) in her hometown of Rowland Heights in the heart of San Gabriel Valley. She lectures regularly to community optometrists and is a volunteer attending at the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Department of Ophthalmology where she teaches eye surgery to young resident doctors. She also serves as an admissions interviewer for Harvard College and provides mentorship for premedical students with over 50,000 followers on her Instagram account @DZEyeMD. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Shanghainese, and Spanish, Dr. Zhu is proud to serve her hometown and neighboring communities in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino, Inland Empire, and beyond. In her spare time, Dr. Zhu enjoys playing classical piano, acrylic painting, and singing karaoke.