Nora L. Cothran, O.D., FAAO

Meet Dr. Cothran

Nora L. Cothran, O.D., FAAO is a board-certified optometrist at The Eye Institute of West Florida, serving patients in Pinellas County and the Tampa area. Dr. Cothran specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and neurological eye disease.

Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, Dr. Cothran was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force. She actively participated in the Global War on Terror and was selected to serve as the Director of Intelligence for America’s first combat-capable F-22 Raptor squadron. Thereafter, her contributions to national security continued as a contracted Intelligence Analyst for the Department of Defense.

Compelled to pursue a career in healthcare, Dr. Cothran earned her Doctor of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. She graduated with accolades that include The David P. Sloan Memorial Award, Presidency of the Gold Key International Honor Society, and a National Eye Institute (NEI) travel grant to present her research findings to The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). She went on to complete her residency in Ocular Disease at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

In addition to clinical care, Dr. Cothran is actively involved in FDA Clinical Trials and enjoys providing continuing medical education to her peers and colleagues. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and is a Trustee of the Pinellas Optometric Association.

Dr. Cothran lives in St. Petersburg, FL. As an avid technical diver, she often spends the weekends exploring the vast network of underwater cave systems within the Sunshine State.