My name is Isis Topete and I am a pediatric optometrist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to providing eye care to infants, children and those with special needs and/or medically complex histories, I am also passionate about caring for underserved communities and promoting greater diversity in the health care field.

I received my Bachelor’s of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Cruz in 2014. Afterward, I earned my Doctor of Optometry from UC Berkeley School of Optometry in May 2020. My pediatric focused externships include: conducting school vision screenings in neighboring bay area counties, performing low vision examinations at the California School for the Blind in Fremont, CA and direct patient care at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida.

I completed my pediatric residency with an emphasis on pediatric ocular disease and contact lenses from Duke University Eye Center in 2021. At Duke, I primarily examined infants, children and patients with special needs for comprehensive eye examinations and frequently comanaged complex cases with several pediatric ophthalmologists. In addition to amblyopia, strabismus, and myopia control management, I also have experience fitting pediatric and adult patients with significant anterior segment pathology into specialty contact lenses.

As a native Californian, one of my long term goals has always been to be able to give back to my community. Throughout optometry school, I enjoyed volunteering for vision screenings and speaking about my experiences as a first generation, Hispanic, health care professional. I believe it is important to recognize the disparities in health care and to consider the cost and accessibility to healthcare, while maintaining cultural competency.