Dr. Batliwala was raised in the piney woods of Tyler, Texas, where he attended the University of Texas at Tyler and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. During undergrad, he launched a tech company focused on repair and maintenance of smart devices, which today operates retail stores in East Texas under the brand of SmartPhone ER. He then attended the University of North Texas Health Science Center for medical school, where he was elected into the Sigma Sigma Phi Honor Society. During medical school, he was able to marry his childhood fascination with outer space and interest in ophthalmology by earning an internship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, researching visual impairment experienced by astronauts in zero gravity.

Dr. Batliwala completed his ophthalmology residency at Dean McGee Eye Institute in Oklahoma City. He then obtained further sub-speciality training in LASIK and presbyopia correcting intraocular lens implants at ClearSight Vision Correction Center in Oklahoma City.

Dr. Batliwala thoroughly enjoys traveling. In his free time, he enjoys listening to engaging podcasts and audiobooks on business, leadership, and all things outer space. He fortunately had the opportunity to merge his passion of business and space by completing a Masters of Global Management with an emphasis in space business, leadership, and policy (MGM) through the Arizona State University. He was part of the inaugural cohort of this one-of-a-kind program.