Dr. Bhim Rai is an overseas ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon. He received his MBBS and postgraduate training in ophthalmology from India, Fellowship training in medical retina from the USA and in surgical retina from Nepal. He has served as ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon in Bhutan, India and Nepal for more than 15 years before he pursued PhD. He is a faculty member (Assoc. Prof. in Ophthalmology) in Postgraduate Medical Education Centre, University Medical Sciences of Bhutan, and also teaching optometry, nursing and paramedics. In Bhutan, he was the founding head of the Vitreoretinal unit and running the national programs such National Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Program, and National Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening Program. He also effected introducing and implementing advanced technologies in Bhutan such as Phaco-emulsification technique of cataract operation, Diode-green and Nd:YAG laser retinal therapies, and vitreoretinal surgeries. 

He recently completed PhD course by research with Prof. Ted Maddess, Diagnostics for Eye Diseases at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University. Currently, Dr. Rai is a Research Fellow in the same group. The group, led by Professor Maddess, is developing objective form of visual field testing machine based on pupillography. Current research studies include AMD, diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema in type 1 diabetes, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, concussion injuries among the footballers, and multiple sclerosis. He is also involved in other projects including the multi-centre FAME 1 study (The Fenofibrate And Microvascular Events in Type 1 diabetes), and OHIOH (Our Health in Our Hands – an ANU funded initiative which won the ANU “grand challenge”).