Welcoming Dr. Jeffrey Kamo, OD FAAO

We are excited to welcome Dr. Jeffrey Kamo, OD, FAAO, to Insight Vision Optometry, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Dr. Kamo is a cornea and contact lens optometrist whose day-to-day work centers on the kind of care our Costa Mesa flagship is known for: specialty contact lenses, scleral lens fitting, contact lens care for irregular corneas, myopia management, and dry eye disease, alongside everyday primary eye care.

Born and raised in Orange County, he joins our Costa Mesa team, led by co-founder Dr. Thanh Mai, OD, FSLS, and brings residency-level training in exactly the complex cases patients across Orange County travel to us for. For our patients, that means more access to advanced specialty contact lens care from a doctor who grew up here and is genuinely glad to be back home serving his community.

Meet Dr. Jeffrey Kamo, OD, FAAO

Dr. Kamo is a residency-trained and fellowship-credentialed optometrist with a focus on cornea and contact lens care. He joins Insight Vision Optometry, Costa Mesa after completing advanced training at the University of California, Berkeley, and his clinical interests line up closely with our specialty roster in myopia management, irregular corneas, scleral lenses, and ocular surface disease.

Education and training

Dr. Kamo’s path through optometry is rooted entirely in the communities he serves. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Irvine in 2018, graduating Summa Cum Laude, then completed his Doctor of Optometry at the Southern California College of Optometry in 2023. He went on to complete a Cornea and Contact Lens Residency at the University of California, Berkeley in 2024, the year of focused, advanced clinical training that prepares an optometrist for the most challenging specialty lens and corneal cases. In 2025, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO), a credential earned through a rigorous review of clinical knowledge and a demonstrated commitment to the profession.

Areas of advanced training

Dr. Kamo’s clinical focus includes:

• Specialty contact lenses, including scleral lens fitting
• Advanced contact lens fitting for irregular corneas, including keratoconus
• Myopia management and myopia control
• Dry eye disease management
• Primary and routine eye care

Recognition, research, and teaching

Dr. Kamo built a strong academic and research record during his training. He has presented and published clinical work on higher-order aberrations in scleral lens wear, on multifocal scleral lenses for myopia management in pathological myopia, and on a case report addressing anchoring bias in the diagnosis of keratoconus. That work has been shared at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium, the American Academy of Optometry, the University of California, San Francisco, and VA Fresno.

His honors include the Richard W. Baker Contact Lens Award, the CooperVision Contact Lens Award, and the Asian American Optometric Society Scholarship, along with several named scholarships from the Southern California College of Optometry. He also gives back to the next generation of optometrists as a STAPLE (Soft Toric and Presbyopic Lens Education Program) Preceptor at the Southern California College of Optometry, helping current students build their skills in contact lens care.

A Focus on Specialty Contact Lenses and Irregular Corneas

For patients with corneas that do not follow the usual rules, the right contact lens is the difference between blurred, frustrating vision and a clear, comfortable day. Dr. Kamo’s training centers on exactly these cases. Conditions where his work most often helps include:

• Keratoconus and other irregular corneal shapes
• Corneas that are difficult to fit with standard glasses or off-the-shelf contact lenses
• Patients who have not had success with previous contact lens fittings
• Ocular surface conditions that make lens wear uncomfortable

Scleral lenses, which vault over the cornea and rest on the white of the eye, are one of the most powerful tools for these patients. They create a smooth optical surface and hold a reservoir of fluid against the eye, which can dramatically improve both vision and comfort for irregular corneas and severe dry eye. Dr. Kamo’s residency and research were built around this kind of advanced lens fitting, and it fits naturally alongside the specialty contact lens and corneal work already at the heart of our Costa Mesa practice.

Myopia Management and Dry Eye Care

Dr. Kamo also works with younger patients on myopia management, the set of evidence-based strategies designed to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children and teens rather than simply updating prescriptions year after year. Slowing myopia in childhood is about more than thinner glasses later. It is tied to lower long-term risk of eye health complications, which makes early, proactive care so worthwhile.

Dry eye disease is the other thread running through his everyday practice. He manages dry eye as part of comprehensive care, helping patients understand what is driving their symptoms and building a treatment plan that addresses comfort, vision, and the long-term health of the ocular surface.

Compassion-Driven Care

Ask Dr. Kamo why he chose optometry, and the answer goes back to a lifelong instinct to take care of the people around him, from helping a younger sibling to looking after his grandparents as a kid. He found the profession through working with and shadowing a close family friend, and what kept him in it is the chance to improve a patient’s quality of life through better vision while helping protect their long-term eye health.

He is quick to point out that small interventions can carry enormous weight. One moment that stays with him involved fitting a highly farsighted eight-year-old girl with her first pair of contact lenses. When she saw herself without her thick glasses, she immediately smiled, and her mother shared how relieved she was that her daughter would no longer be teased. As Dr. Kamo puts it:

An Orange County Local, On and Off the Clock

Dr. Kamo was born and raised in Orange County, and he stays close to both the community and an active outdoor lifestyle. You will find him shooting hoops, playing grass and beach volleyball, hiking, and, more recently, doing online mat pilates with his girlfriend. He has coached both basketball and volleyball, and before optometry school he spent a gap year working at a local juice shop and as a paraeducator at Pioneer Middle School.

Weekends usually involve hunting down a new matcha spot or a great breakfast burrito, followed by a hike with his dog, Kiwi. He is also happy to share his local favorites, from the Saigon Cinnamon Crumb donut at Sidecar Donuts to the Pad See Ew at Hanuman. And a tradition that goes all the way back to his teenage years still holds strong: a bowl of Shin Ramyun and the latest anime episode after a late-night practice. That same warmth and approachability is what patients can expect when they meet him in the exam room.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schedule With Dr. Kamo

We could not be more pleased to welcome Dr. Jeffrey Kamo, OD, FAAO, to Insight Vision Optometry, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Whether you are looking for routine eye care, a specialty contact lens fitting, help with an irregular cornea, myopia management for your child, or relief from dry eye, he is ready to help.