Dr. Pamela Ko

Dr. Pamela Ko has been a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) since 2019.

While her career path has certainly been far from linear, her endless curiosity and vision led her to merge an engineering background with a passion for the care and treatment of eye diseases in animals.

Education & Career Background

Dr. Ko earned her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. She later moved to Southern California and spent a decade working in the aerospace industry, designing digital signal processors and database systems.

She then earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine and worked at multiple small animal practices in Southern California.

Ophthalmology Training & Research

Dr. Ko completed a joint clinical and pre-clinical ophthalmic commercial research internship in Irvine, California.

She then completed a four-year comparative veterinary ophthalmology residency in San Diego, where she continued to focus on translational research and biomedical science.

After completing her residency in 2017, Dr. Ko practiced veterinary medicine in Arizona and Southern California for many years.

Research Recognition

Dr. Ko’s ophthalmic research has been recognized by several professional organizations:

2016: Received a travel fellowship from the International Society for Eye Research (ISER) to present her study of pre-clinical transscleral diffusion for sustaining drug delivery in Tokyo, Japan.

2015: Her residency research presentation was selected as a “hot topic” of the year by the Association for Research and Vision Ophthalmology (ARVO).

2011: Received a travel grant from the International Society of Clinical and Electrophysiology of Vision to present her optic nerve neuropathy research in Perth, Australia.

Wildlife Ophthalmology

In her spare time, Dr. Ko volunteers her services at a local zoo, performing eye consultations and surgeries for wildlife and zoo animals.

Ophthalmology at CASE

Learn more about CASE Animal Hospital’s Ophthalmology services for pets with eye conditions and vision concerns.