Dr. Hetal J. Ray is a board-certified ophthalmologist who joined the Perlmutter Eye Center in 2025. She earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with Honors from Williams College and went on to complete her medical training at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in her home state of New Jersey.

Dr. Ray completed her internship at Albany Medical Center before moving to New Haven, Connecticut, where she completed her Ophthalmology residency at Yale School of Medicine. During her training, she was elected Chief Resident by the faculty and received both the Marvin L. Sears Award for Clinical Excellence and the Susan Hall Forster Resident as Teacher Award in her final year. She then pursued subspecialty fellowship training in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the world-renowned Emory Eye Center.

Before joining the Perlmutter Eye Center, Dr. Ray served as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Virginia. There, she worked closely with ophthalmology residents and helped strengthen collaborations between Ophthalmology and the departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Endocrinology to advance multidisciplinary patient care. By her second year on faculty, she received the UVA Ophthalmology Faculty Teaching Award in recognition of her dedication to education.

Dr. Ray has authored numerous publications in Ophthalmology and Neuro-Ophthalmology and is a regular contributor to professional content published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Her clinical specialties include customized cataract surgery, glaucoma management, and Neuro-Ophthalmology. She provides medical, laser, and surgical treatments for cataracts and glaucoma and evaluates patients with complex neuro-ophthalmic conditions such as optic nerve disorders, papilledema, double vision, and visual symptoms related to neurologic disease.

Outside the clinic, Dr. Ray enjoys exploring new hiking trails with her husband, radiologist Dr. Christopher Sears, and their daughter, Siya. She also loves movies, cooking, and practicing meditation.