Kristen Harris Nwanyanwu, MD, MBA, MHS
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About
Titles
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Associate Director of Community Engaged Research and Participant Recruitment, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI)
Biography
Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu graduated with highest honors from the University of Michigan. Her degrees in African-American Studies and Biochemistry became the foundation for her career as a health disparities researcher. At the University of Pennsylvania, she earned her medical degree and MBA from the Wharton School. She is a board-certified ophthalmologist and a practicing vitreoretinal surgeon. She completed residency at the University of Michigan and vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After joining the Yale faculty, she was selected for the YCCI Junior Faculty Scholars Program through which she completed her Master of Health Science. She is currently the PI for the NIH-funded Sight-Saving Engagement and Evaluation in New Haven (SEEN) Program, a multi-method approach to identifying and addressing health disparities in diabetic retinopathy. She has lectured nationally on health disparities, access to care, and the surgical management of diabetic retinopathy.
Appointments
Ophthalmology
Associate Professor on TermPrimaryBiomedical Informatics & Data Science
Associate Professor on TermSecondarySchool of Management
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Biomedical Informatics & Data Science
- Diabetes Research Center
- Diabetic Eye Care
- Janeway Society
- Macular Degeneration
- MORE
- Ophthalmology
- Retina & Vitreous
- School of Management
- Vitreoretinal Fellowship Faculty
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Medicine
Education & Training
- MHS
- Yale University, Health Science (2020)
- Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship
- Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, University of Illinois at Chicago (2015)
- Ophthalmology Residency
- Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan (2013)
- Transitional Internship
- Albert Einstein Medical Center (2010)
- MD
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2009)
- MBA
- The Wharton School (2009)
- Wharton Fellowship
- University of Pennsylvania (2009)
- BS (Hon)
- University of Michigan, Biochemistry and African-American Studies (2004)
Advanced Training & Certifications
- American Board of Ophthalmology
- American Board of Ophthalmology
Research
Publications
2025
Digital health tool for preventing blindness from diabetic retinopathy: protocol for a qualitative study. Submitted for publication
Frimpong A, Granados A, Chang T, Fu J, Applebaum SS, Moore SG, Kaur M, Adepoju B, Hari Krishnan V, Levi A, McCall T, Harris Nwanyanwu K. Digital health tool for preventing blindness from diabetic retinopathy: protocol for a qualitative study. Submitted for publication. JMIR Research Protocols. 2025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSocial Determinants Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy Awareness: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2008)
Nwanyanwu K, Andoh J, Chen E, Xu Y, Granados A, Deng Y, Desai M, Nunez-Smith M. Social Determinants Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy Awareness: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2008). American Journal Of Ophthalmology 2025 PMID: 40550446, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2025.06.028.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSocial determinants of healthSocial determinants of health variablesAwareness of DRAdverse SDHNational Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyNon-Hispanic black participantsHealth and Nutrition Examination SurveyRao-Scott chi-square testsDeterminants of healthSocial Support IndexNutrition Examination SurveyDiabetic retinopathyAssociated with awarenessAwareness of diabetic retinopathyMultivariate logistic regressionDepression screeningSocial determinantsPHQ-9Fundus photographyExamination SurveyUnited StatesSociodemographic factorsChi-square testRao-ScottDR awarenessRecommendations for Designing a Digital Health Tool for Blindness Prevention Among High-Risk Diabetic Retinopathy Patients: Qualitative Focus Group Study of Adults With Diabetes
Frimpong A, Granados A, Chang T, Fu J, Moore S, Applebaum S, Adepoju B, Kaur M, Krishnan V, Levi A, McCall T, Nwanyanwu K. Recommendations for Designing a Digital Health Tool for Blindness Prevention Among High-Risk Diabetic Retinopathy Patients: Qualitative Focus Group Study of Adults With Diabetes. JMIR Formative Research 2025, 9: e65893. PMID: 40513002, PMCID: PMC12180678, DOI: 10.2196/65893.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchParticipant qualitative evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of the SEEN Pilot Program
Moore SG, Applebaum S, Granados A, Frimpong A, Martinez J, Harris Nwanyanwu K. Participant qualitative evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of the SEEN Pilot Program. Submitted for publication. PLOS ONE. 2025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDuration and Frequency of Lapses in Care Among Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Applebaum S, Fu J, Nwanyanwu K. Duration and Frequency of Lapses in Care Among Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. Ophthalmic Epidemiology 2025, ahead-of-print: 1-4. PMID: 40131442, DOI: 10.1080/09286586.2025.2463067.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSocial Determinants of Health Case: Retina/Diabetic Retinopathy
Social Determinants of Health Case: Retina/Diabetic Retinopathy Shannan Moore, BS; Akua Frimpong, BS; Kristen Harris-Nwanyanwu MD, MBA, MHSPeer-Reviewed Educational MaterialsProliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Disproportionately Impacts Distressed Communities near a Northeastern Academic Center,
Akua, A. Frimpong, Thomas, L. Chang, June-Marie Weiss, Brittany, G. Assanah-Lewis, Ming-Chen Lu, Kristen Harris Nwanyanwu, Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Disproportionately Impacts Distressed Communities near a Northeastern Academic Center, Ophthalmology Science, 2025, 100872, ISSN 2666-9145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xops.2025.100872. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666914525001708)Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchProliferative diabetic retinopathy disproportionately impacts distressed communities near a northeastern academic center.
Frimpong AA, Chang TL, Weiss JM, Assanah-Lewis BG, Lu MC, Harris Nwanyanwu K. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy disproportionately impacts distressed communities near a northeastern academic center. Submitted for publication. Ophthalmology Science. 2025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSight-saving engagement and evaluation in New Haven: intervention to engage individuals at high risk for diabetic retinopathy
Harris Nwanyanwu K, Frimpong A, Granados A, Fu J, Chang T, Applebaum S, Moore S, Assanah-Lewis B, Weiss J, Andoh J, Liang J, Deng Y, Desai M, Nunez-Smith M. Sight-saving engagement and evaluation in New Haven: intervention to engage individuals at high risk for diabetic retinopathy. Submitted for publication. BMC Public Health. 2025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSight Outcomes Research Collaborative (SOURCE) Consortium. Risk factors and outcomes for the occurrence and duration of lapses in proliferative diabetic retinopathy care in a national cohort.
Applebaum SS, Deng Y, Fu JJ, Kane M, Harris Nwanyanwu K; Sight Outcomes Research Collaborative (SOURCE) Consortium. Risk factors and outcomes for the occurrence and duration of lapses in proliferative diabetic retinopathy care in a national cohort. Submitted for publication. American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2025.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Sight-saving Engagement and Evaluation in New Haven (SEEN) Program
HIC ID2000031731RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2022Recruiting Participants
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Kristen Nwanyanwu, MD, is an ophthalmologist who specializes in vitreoretinal surgery, which treats the vitreous, or gel-like substance that helps the eye maintain its round shape. She often treats patients with eye problems related to trauma, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration.
“Eye surgery is very delicate surgery,” Dr. Nwanyanwu says. “I often describe the surgeries I do as separating tissue paper underwater with tweezers, so people can get an idea of how fine my movements need to be. We take instruments that are the size of needles—and lasers, and other things—and use them to manipulate the tissue.”
Dr. Nwanyanwu knew she wanted to be a doctor as a child. As a teenager, she helped her brother manage his care after he developed a brain tumor. In medical school, she saw the many ways eye problems can impact a patient’s life. “It could be something as small as, ‘When I'm reading, I miss a few letters,’" she says, explaining that this is a symptom of a macular hole that actually does take a small piece out of the central vision. “Or it could be something as large as, “’I used to be able to see, then two days ago I saw flashing lights and now I don't see anything.’" The latter can be retinal detachment, meaning the lining or film in the retina that has come down like wallpaper and is no longer sending visual information to the brain. Dr. Nwanyanwu now performs surgery for both of these conditions.
An assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Nwanyanwu enjoys working the Yale Eye Center because she has quick access to colleagues who often provide valuable input for her cases. “And there is a warmth here,” she says. “We all work together very well. I know the glaucoma specialists, the ocular oncologists, the uveitis specialist, the cornea team. When I’m talking to a patient about what's happening with their eye, I might go out into the hall and see four different kinds of eye doctors. We also meet regularly to talk about our complex cases. I think that is the best way to do things, and it leads to high quality care.”
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Macular Degeneration
Learn More on Yale MedicineRetinal Detachment
Learn More on Yale MedicineOrbital Tumors
Learn More on Yale MedicineType 2 Diabetes: Symptoms and Treatments
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Ophthalmology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Ophthalmology
- Latest Certification Date
- 2025
- Original Certification Date
- 2014
Yale Medicine News
News & Links
News
- May 07, 2024
Congratulations to Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu: Recipient of the William R. Orthwein, Jr. '38 Yale Scholar Award!
- August 29, 2023
The Task Force and Sub-Task Forces on Disparities in Eye Care Recognized for its Extraordinary Work in Health Disparities, Deep Contributions by Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu
- January 03, 2023
Dr. Kristen Nwanyanwu’s Project Submission to the YCCI Community Engaged Research Pilot Program Entitled “Development of a Community Responsive Digital Health Tool for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening” - Selected for Funding
- July 11, 2022
Kristen Nwanyanwu, MD, MBA, MHS Promoted to Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Science
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