News
Seeing the impact of a career in optometry and providing for its future
by Rick Lewis
Adam Gordon, OD, MPH, FAAO, attributes his nearly four-decades-long career as an optometrist and professor in the UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) to his failing to find fame as a musician. As a fresh biology major graduate out of Washington University in St. Louis, Gordon had a guitar and his sights on the stage, but when “it became obvious [he] wasn’t going to pay rent,” he moved back to Baltimore and landed an entry-level job at The Johns Hopkins Hospital instead.
Day named ALOA Optometrist of the Year
Howard Day, OD, class of 1987, was named Optometrist of the Year by the 2021 Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA).
Read moreWalline delivers 2021 Springer Lecture
by Satina Richardson
Jeffrey Walline, OD, PhD, delivered the 2021 Springer Lecture. This was the 23rd year for this esteemed event, which is supported by the Nathaniel E. Springer Memorial Fund established in 1999 by the Springer family and Donald Springer, OD, in memory of his father. Springer was instrumental in founding the School of Optometry.
Read moreFormer Cornea and Contact Lens resident appointed to new Johnson & Johnson Vision role
by Caleb Jones
Former UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) resident Chandra Mickles, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS, has been appointed to the newly created role of North America Professional Education Lead, Myopia, at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Vision.
Mickles will work to further strengthen J&J Vision’s education efforts to empower and train professionals about myopia, as well as create new ways of engaging customers through leadership and science. Mickles will be joining a motivated team of innovators and advocates who are all working to better understand myopia while partnering to find solutions. In this role, she will work closely with eye care professionals (ECPs)
Read moreAlumnus named 2021 MOA Optometrist of the Year
Minh Duong, OD, of Primary Eyecare and Optical of Meridian, has been named the 2021 James Brownlee Optometrist of the Year by the Mississippi Optometric Association (MOA). The association presents the award annually to recognize significant contributions to the profession of optometry and to the public. He was also named a finalist for the 2021 Optometrist Community Service Award.
Read moreBranch named ALOA Young Optometrist of the Year
Gussie Branch, OD, class of 2016, was named the 2021 Young Optometrist of the Year by the Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA).
Read morePate named UABSO Alumnus of the Year
by Caleb Jones
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Rob Pate, OD, class of 2007, 2021 Alumnus of the Year.
“UABSO has produced and is home to a myriad of exceptional graduates that are doing and have done some incredible things,” Pate said. “To be recognized alongside them is a tremendous blessing.”
Read moreVeteran finds open arms, family at UAB Eye Care
by Satina Richardson
Natalie Vines has had a storied military career that includes multiple combat deployments that led to mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs). UAB Eye Care’s clinic that is dedicated to treating patients with brain injuries provided relief to Natalie’s vision issues that have long affected her quality of life.
Read moreRunyon named UABSO Young Alumnus of the Year
by Caleb Jones
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Brandon Runyon, OD, class of 2013, the 2021 Young Alumnus of the Year.
“I'm very shocked and honored to have been nominated and selected for this award,” Runyon said. “It's humbling to know that my colleagues felt my achievements to be worthy of this kind of recognition. I've always had a desire to push myself to the limits of my knowledge, embrace and effect change, and accept new challenges when the opportunities are presented in the interest of personal and professional growth.
Read moreAssistant professor awarded dry eye career development grant
Jillian F. Ziemanski, OD, PhD, FAAO, is the 2021 recipient of the Korb-Exford Dry Eye Career Development Grant by the American Academy of Optometry Foundation. The grant is designed to support an individual to further their knowledge in the broad area of dry eye disease.
Read moreVSGP student awarded F30 research grant
by Caleb Jones
Seth D. Fortmann, a dual degree MD/PhD student enrolled in the Vision Science Graduate Program (VSGP), has been awarded an F30 research grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Eye Institute (NIH/NEI). The total grant amount is $208,840 and marks the first time in UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) history that a VSGP student has been awarded an F30 grant.
Read moreBecoming a military optometrist
by Lieutenant Matt Schaffner, OD
UAB School of Optometry Class of 2019
Each year, the UAB School of Optometry has several graduates who choose to serve as military optometrists. Lieutenant Matt Schaffner, OD, was kind enough to share his journey to becoming a military optometrist and provide a glimpse into a day in his life as an optometrist in the United States Navy. His wife and classmate, Ginny Carroll Schaffner, OD, is an optometrist in San Diego, CA.
Read moreHopkins receives statewide teaching honor
by Satina Richardson
A professor dedicated to treating young patients and training future optometrists, Kristine Hopkins, OD, MSPH, FAAO, was named the 2021 Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA) Educator of the Year.
Hopkins joined the UAB School of Optometry faculty in the summer of 1998 working in pediatric clinical services and founded UAB Eye Care’s Vision Therapy Clinic. UAB Eye Care is the clinical arm of the school. She left to work in an Atlanta-area private practice in 2012. However, her love for teaching influenced a return to UAB in 2015.
Read moreOptometry welcomes Khanal as assistant professor
Safal Khanal, OD, PhD, FAAO, has joined the UAB School of Optometry as a tenure-track assistant professor. In his new role, Khanal will lead an independent research program, in addition to teaching professional and graduate courses and contributing to professional service.
Read moreNew Faculty-Student Mentoring Program kicks off at UABSO
By Caleb Jones
The UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) recently kicked off its new Faculty-Student Mentoring and Social Program (FSMS), organized by assistant professor of optometry Andrew Pucker, OD, PhD, FAAO, FSLS. The program is intended to foster student relationships with faculty members and students from other optometry classes.
Read moreElder selected for health leadership program
By Caleb Jones
Keshia S. Elder, OD, MS, FAAO, associate professor of optometry and an attending in the UAB Eye Care Primary Care clinic, has been selected to participate in the Health Leadership Academy (HLA). She will be a member of the 2022 cohort, which includes a select few from a cross-section of individuals from UAB schools, the UAB Health System and UAB Medicine.
Read moreStudents gain national leadership positions, scholarship at 2021 NOA convention
by Caleb Jones
This year at the 2021 National Optometric Association (NOA) National Convention, two students from the UAB School of Optometry were elected leaders of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) and one student was awarded a scholarship.
Read moreTurner receives UAB teaching award
by Satina Richardson
Candice Turner, OD, discovered her passion for teaching while working with fourth year optometry students during her career in private practice. She ultimately changed paths and became a full-time educator. Her decision has been rewarding. Turner received the 2021 UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Read moreNichols named UAB’s senior associate vice president
by Satina Richardson
Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PHD, FAAO, has been named UAB’s senior associate president for research. Nichols’ existing responsibilities include leading entrepreneurial and clinical trial initiatives in the Office of Research, serving on the Center for Clinical and Translational Science Executive Committee, and ongoing return to research operations planning. He will now also assume leadership duties of the merged offices of Research Development & Internal Programs as well as Research Engagement & Partnerships.
Read moreResearcher awarded NEI/NIH R21 grant
by Caleb Jones
Yuqiang (Bob) Bai, PhD, a researcher in the lab of Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PHD, FAAO, has been awarded an NEI/NIH R21 grant to develop an interferometry system with unprecedented sub-micron resolution to understand tear film structure and function in dry eye disease. The grant is for two years, totaling $370,101.
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