[5] In September 2012, Varma was appointed chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and associate dean for strategic planning at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
[8] In February 2016, he was elected president of the clinical chairs of the Keck School of Medicine, succeeding John Niparko.
[citation needed] In October 2017 Varma stepped down as dean to join the faculty at USC after sexual harassment claims against him were uncovered.
[1] In July 2018, it was announced that Varma had joined the Board of Directors at Illusio, a medical software company bringing augmented reality technology into plastic surgery.
[citation needed] In October 2018, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center announced Varma as the founding director of the Southern California Eyecare and Vision Research Institute (SCEVRI).
[22] Varma co-wrote two ophthalmic books:[5] Essentials of Eye Care: The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Handbook;[23] and The Optic Nerve in Glaucoma.