Srilaxmi Bearelly, MD

Ophthalmology
Medical Retina
More specialties
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Overview

Srilaxmi Bearelly, MD, MHS is a retina specialist with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusions, choroidal neovascularization and macular disorders.

Her experience in the treatment of retinal diseases started with a seven-year tenure on the Vitreoretinal Service at Duke University Eye Center in North Carolina (2003 to 2010). Since then, she joined Columbia’s faculty in 2010. She has treated thousands of patients, and helped patients and their families through their treatments. She has also volunteered her medical expertise in underserviced areas, such as El Salvador and rural United States.

Dr. Bearelly received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, received her M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School, and a Masters of Health Sciences from Duke University School of Medicine. Following her ophthalmology training at Northwestern University, she completed her fellowship training in diseases of the retina and vitreous at Duke University Eye Center.

She has written 70 articles, chapters and abstracts, and frequently presents at scientific and professional conferences both nationally and abroad. Currently, Dr. Bearelly is a collaborator on a Columbia University clinical study of retinal changes in preeclamspia (a disease of pregnancy).

She is recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor in Ophthalmology, and with Castle Connolly’s Exceptional Women in Medicine award. She received several research awards, including an NIH/NEI K12 and K23 Mentored Research Career Award, and a Young Investigator Award by Retinal Degenerations Symposium at the International Congress of Eye Research Meeting in China.

Dr. Bearelly has been certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She is an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS).

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Diabetic Eye Disease
  • Diabetic Retinal Exams
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Intravitreal Injection
  • Laser Treatment
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Plaquenil Screening
  • Retinal Disease
  • Retinal Disorders
  • Retinal Vascular Occlusion
  • Vitreoretinal Disorder

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at CUMC

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Gender

  • Female

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Location(s)

622 W 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
Disabled Accessible
Primary

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Medicaid Managed Care

AgeWell

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Special Needs

Cigna

  • EPO
  • Great West (National)
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Emblem/HIP

  • ConnectiCare
  • EPO
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan

Fidelis Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Local 1199

  • Local 1199

MagnaCare (National)

  • MagnaCare

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Multiplan

  • Multiplan

MVP Health Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Columbia University Employee Plan
  • Compass (Exchange)
  • Empire Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid (Community Plan)
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

WellCare

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • Residency: Northwestern University Medical School
  • Fellowship: Duke University Medical Center, NC

Board Certifications

  • Ophthalmology

Honors & Awards

2023-2025 NYP Dalio Health Justice Research Grant

2021 Precision Medicine Pilot Award

2018 Top 10 Poster Presentation Award, Women in Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, FL

2017-present Castle Connolly Exceptional Women in Medicine

2015-present Castle Connolly Top Doctor in Ophthalmology, Regional, New York Metro Area

2012-present Robert L. Burch III Scholar, Columbia University

2005-2010 NIH/NEI K12 and K23 Mentored Career Development Awards

2008 Young Investigator Award, Retinal Degenerations/International Congress of Eye Research

1999 Resident Teaching Award, Department of Internal Medicine at Northwestern University: Excellence in Teaching of Medical Students

1992-1999 Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME), Northwestern University BA/M.D. Program

1992-1995 Northwestern University Academic Grants

1992-1993 Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, ASTRA Scholarship

America's Top Doctor
NY Top Doctor

Research

Dr. Bearelly’s primary research interests are in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Currently she is studying imaging technologies to predict progression of age-related macular degeneration. The emergence of many new clinical trials evaluating therapies for macular degeneration has increased the need for reliable and accurate means of monitoring and predicting macular degeneration progression. Imaging markers could help to stratify slow and fast progressors, thus expediting the evaluation of new therapies.

Dr. Bearelly is interested in approaching scientific questions from a patient perspective. Her long-term career goal is to design and implement early, innovative phase I and II clinical trials by applying advancements in the basic sciences. The potential for public health impact is enormous, as prevalence of macular degeneration is expected to double by 2030, and the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy is expected to triple by 2050. Novel approaches to treatment are needed for both of these diseases.

Research Interests

  • Innovative clinical studies in vitreoretinal disease
  • Novel imaging and serum biomarkers in age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy

Selected Publications

  • Silverman RH, Urs R, Wapner RJ, Valenzuela IA, Coleman HR, Bearelly S.  Correlation of ocular plane-wave Doppler with optical coherence tomography angiography in preeclampsia. J Ultrasound in Med. 2023 Aug: Online ahead of print.
  • Breazzano MP, Bond JB 3rd, Bearelly S, Kim DH, Donahue SP, Lum F, Olsen TW.  American  Academy of Ophthalmology recommendations on screening for endogenous Candida endophthalmitis. Ophthalmology. 2022 Jan;129(1):73-76.
  • Dar S, De Moraes CG, Karani R, Khan S, Chen R, Blumberg D, Harizman N, Krawitz B, Valenzuela IA, Aliancy J, Tezel T, Horowitz J, Bearelly S, Coleman DJ, Chang S, Cioffi GA, Liebmann JM.Patient Concerns Regarding Suspended Ophthalmic Care Due to COVID-19. J Glaucoma. 2021 Aug; 30(8): 750-7.
  • Nanda T, Breazzano M, Bearelly S. Clinical utility of pre-transplant ophthalmic consultation for lung transplant recipients: implications in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2021 Jun; 259(6):1669-71. 
  • Stern-Ascher CN, North VS, Garg A, Ananth CV, Wapner RJ, Bearelly S. Subfoveal choroidal thickness and associated changes of angiogenic factors in women with severe preeclampsia. Am J Perinatol 2021 Apr;38(5):482-9. 
  • Nanda T, Bond JB, Chen RWS, Bearelly S, Russell Day H Jr, Cioffi GA, Arevalo JF, Donahue SP, Breazzano MP. A measured approach to inpatient ophthalmologic screening in the COVID-19 era: a multi-center perspective. Ophthalmology 2021 Mar; 128(3):346-8.
  • Silverman RH, Urs R, Wapner RJ, Bearelly S. Ocular blood flow in preeclampsia. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2020 Sept 14;9(10):14.
  • Breazzano MP, Giurgea LT, Day HR Jr, Fragiotta S, Fernández-Avellaneda P, van Dijk EHC, Bearelly S, Bond JB 3rd. The controversial drive for intervention with ophthalmologic screening for Candida bloodstream infections. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 May 12;96: 363-4.