Sezen Karakus, MD, MPH

Ophthalmology
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Scheie Eye Institute Penn Presbyterian
View 1 additional location
Make an appointmentCall 215-662-8100
Headshot of Sezen Karakus, MD, MPH
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Sezen Karakus, MD, MPH, is a cornea specialist, cataract and corneal surgeon, and clinician-scientist with expertise in corneal and external eye diseases, complex ocular surface disease, and corneal neuropathic pain. She performs routine and complex cataract surgery, corneal transplantation, and ocular surface and other advanced anterior segment procedures.

Dr. Karakus leads the Corneal Neuropathy Clinic at Penn Medicine, where she evaluates patients with persistent or complex eye pain and ocular surface disease, including neuropathic corneal pain, neurotrophic keratitis, Sjogren's disease, autonomic dysfunction, ocular rosacea, and other inflammatory ocular surface conditions.

Dr. Karakus completed fellowship training at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery, followed by additional fellowship training in Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery. She also earned a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. During her time at Johns Hopkins, she served as Associate Director of the Jerome L. Greene Sjogren's Center and as an ophthalmology team member of the Johns Hopkins POTS Program.

Her research focuses on neuroimmune mechanisms of ocular surface disease and corneal pain, Sjogren's disease, autonomic dysfunction, ocular rosacea, and the ocular surface microbiome. As a clinician-scientist, she is particularly interested in translating these discoveries into better diagnostic approaches and individualized treatments for patients. She believes that thoughtful care begins with listening carefully, understanding the whole clinical picture, and partnering with each patient to develop an individualized, evidence-based treatment plan.

My education and training

  • Residency: Beyoglu Eye Training and Research Hospital
  • Fellowship: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Spoken languages

English
English

Insurance accepted

Please contact the practice and/or the member services department of your insurance company for specific details before receiving services. Providers may participate in some, but not all, products offered by a health plan; providers may also accept plans at some practice locations but not others.

Locations

PRIMARY LOCATION
215-662-8100
Learn about location
610-902-2020
Learn about location

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Karakus is a Penn Medicine provider.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and conditions

Research

Publications

Yashar M, Thigale UY, Karakus S. Role of microbiome in ocular surface disease: interpreting biology in a low-biomass environment , Curr Opin Ophthalmol, 37: 2026,299-307

Karakus S, Huang JJ, Yashar M, Haile M, Tunc U, Viton C, Cehan S, Kotamraju P, Wang C, Adler BL, Chung TH. Eye pain and ocular surface characteristics in Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS): The role of autonomic dysfunction , Ocul Surf: 2025

Zhao DX, Quintero M, Mihailovic A, Akpek E, Karakus S, Guo L, Ramulu PY. Utilizing visual symptoms to distinguish dry eye from glaucoma, cataract, and suspect glaucoma patients: a cross-sectional study , BMC Ophthalmol, 24: 2024,16

Dai X, Tunc U, Zhu X, Karakus S. Effect of Topical Recombinant Human Nerve Growth Factor on Corneal Epithelial Regeneration in Refractory Epithelial Keratopathy , Ocul Immunol Inflamm: 2024

Gordon RA, Nguyen Y, Foulquier N, Beydon M, Gheita TA, Hajji R, Sahbudin I, Hoi A, Ng WF, Mendonça JA, Wallace DJ, Shea B, Bruyn GA, Goodman SM, Fisher BA, Baldini C, Torralba KD, Bootsma H, Akpek EK, Karakus S, Baer AN, Chakravarty SD, Terslev L, D'Agostino MA, Mariette X, DiRenzo D, Rasmussen A, Papas A, Montoya C, Arends S, Yusof MYM, Pintilie I, Warner BM, Hammitt KM, Strand V, Bouillot C, Tugwell P, Inanc N, Andreu JL, Wahren-Herlenius M, Devauchelle-Pensec V, Shiboski CH, Benyoussef A, Masli S, Lee AYS, Cornec D, Bowman S, Rischmueller M, McCoy SS, Seror R. The Sjögren's Working Group: The 2023 OMERACT meeting and provisional domain generation , Semin Arthritis Rheum: 2024

Wang K, Tunc U, Huang J, Barandiaran F, Karakus S. Elevated Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Levels Associated with Filamentary Keratitis , Ocul Immunol Inflamm: 2024

Karakus S, Rajabalee N, Tunc U, Smith TJ. Scrambler therapy as a novel treatment for unilateral ocular neuropathic pain , Ocul Surf: 2024

Lin MX, Guo L, Saldanha IJ, VanCourt S, Zeng J, Karakus S, Hessen M, Li G, Akpek EK. Dexamethasone Intracanalicular Insert for Clinically Significant Aqueous-Deficient Dry Eye: A Randomized Controlled Trial , Ophthalmology: 2024

Dai X, Jensen A, Dun C, Karakus S, Rajaii F, Woreta F. Cost and Prescriber and Patient Characteristics of Cenegermin Use in the Medicare Population , Am J Ophthalmol: 2023

Akpek EK, Karakus S, Yohannan J, Jabbour S, Sotimehin AE, Li G, Ramulu PY. Reliability of Several Glaucoma Tests in Patients With Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis , Cornea, 41: 2022,310-316

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