Dr. Jeffrey Sonsino focuses his career on advanced contact lenses for the most difficult patients. He researches, publishes, lectures, and is a global leader in keratoconus, scleral, gas-permeable, hybrid, and custom soft contact lenses. He holds leadership positions within national and global organizations dedicated to preserving sight and protecting patients.

He trained in Boston at the New England College of Optometry, where he graduated with research honors. After school, he completed a residency in cornea and contact lenses at Illinois Eye Institute in Chicago. He then moved to Nashville where he was faculty at Vanderbilt Eye Institute for 11 years. As an assistant professor, he was the division chief of optometry, founded the Center for Sight Enhancement, was the director of the Scleral Lens Clinic, authored 9 patents on vision-related medical devices, authored multiple papers, and lectured internationally on contact lens technology.

A Proud Eye Specialist Achievement

One of his proudest achievements was earning the title of diplomate in Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies of the American Academy of Optometry. This 5 year review process is the highest clinical designation in the field of optometry and is achieved only after a grueling series of written, practical, and live patient examination testing by leaders in the field. There are around 120 diplomates worldwide and he is one of two in Tennessee who has achieved this milestone.

Educating and Advocating

Dr. Sonsino is past chairman of the American Optometric Association's Contact Lens and Cornea Council. This board of six optometrists sets policy and is the leadership of cornea and contact lenses for all optometrists in the U.S. In this capacity, he dealt with education of optometrists, issues related to protection of the public, and worked with industry partners on patient safety.

He is also a founding and emeritus board member of the Alliance for Patient Safety. This advocacy organization protects the public from corporate interests that seek to erode care for profit reasons. He is a fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society and on the advisory boards of the Gas-Permeable Lens Institute and International Keratoconic Association. Locally, he is past-president of the Middle Tennessee Optometric Association.

Dr. Sonsino is an invited lecturer globally on topics ranging from advanced contact lenses to patient protection on the national level. He publishes papers in every major contact lens journal and has consulted with over twenty companies helping to advance technology in the field.