Tuesday, November 30, 2021

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• Today's the big day
• Waterloo welcomes Chris Downey to speak on International Day of Persons with Disabilities
• Remembering Linda Carson
• Championing the advancement of eye and vision research

Today's the big day

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Giving Tuesday is finally here.

All the action takes place on our Giving Tuesday website, where you can make your gift, see who else made a gift, track the progress of each challenge, and see which ones have received the most support — and the most donors. Every year for the past seven years, Waterloo faculty, staff and retirees have been a crucial part of our Giving Tuesday success.

Let’s make 2021 our best year yet.

Waterloo welcomes Chris Downey to speak on International Day of Persons with Disabilities

In 1992, the United Nations declared December 3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Since then, the day has been observed globally with a different focus each year. This year’s theme, “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world,” gives the chance to celebrate the innovation and progress persons with disabilities have brought to many different fields.

In recognition of this year’s theme, the Office of the Associate Provost, Human Resources will host award-winning architect Chris Downey for a keynote event. In 2008, Downey’s life and practice were transformed when he unexpectedly lost his sight. Today, he helps designers innovate with the disabled in mind. Downey will be speaking on how designing for disability improves the experience for everyone. “In designing a city for the blind, I hope you realize that it actually would be a more inclusive, a more equitable, a more just city for all,” Downey said.

As one of the few practicing blind architects in the world, Chris has been featured in local, national, and international media stories and speaks regularly about his many “outsights” (aka insights) since losing his sight. He has been profiled on 60 Minutes and has graced the TED stage among many others.

Chris is providing his unique perspective in the design of new Waterloo Eye Institute at the School of Optometry & Vision Science as a consultant with the HOK architecture design team to ensure the project is accessible for patients, visitors, employees and our students.

Chris teaches accessibility and Universal Design at the University of California, Berkeley, serves on the Board of Directors for the LightHouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired and has a gubernatorial appointment to the California Commission on Disability Access.

The virtual event will be held on Friday, December 3 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Register for the event via Portal. 

A recording of the keynote will be made available and accessible for 20 days after the event.

Remembering Linda Carson

With files from the Faculty of Arts, Stephen Markan, and James Nicoll.

"It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Linda Carson. Linda was a Continuing Lecturer at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business and a wonderful colleague and friend to many in the Faculty of Arts and at the University," says a message from the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business.

"As a lecturer at the Stratford School, Linda made tremendous contributions to curriculum, teaching and community life. She was best known for her outstanding contributions to interdisciplinary teaching and creative collaboration and is one of the few individuals to be awarded degrees from three different faculties at the University of Waterloo: BMath (1985), BA (Fine Arts, 1990), MSc (Kinesiology, 2004), and PhD (Psychology, 2013), as well as earning an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (1993)."

"Before joining the Stratford School, Linda also taught in the Department of Fine Arts, Psychology, the Arts First Program, Knowledge Integration (a program she developed), Independent Studies and WatPD. Linda developed numerous courses designed to assist students with the transition to academia, to enrich existing program offerings, or to provide new opportunities for creative collaboration. She had a passion for improving access for students, especially those from marginalized groups, and was a mentor and advocate for countless students, faculty, and staff."

Friends and colleagues have been posting tributes to Linda:

"Shortly after meeting her, I realized that Linda was both a voice of reason and a source of wisdom," writes Stratford School colleague Jessica Thompson. "After officially joining us at Stratford in fall 2018,  Linda helped to transform the MDEI program by establishing Design Thinking as one of our primary areas, and by drawing from her expertise to transform courses such as Working in Teams (DEI 612), which many graduates said was the best course they took during their degree. Her influence on our curriculum was always evident to me when I taught Design Principles and Practice (DEI 613), where, almost every week, students would put up their hands to excitedly share ‘Linda-isms.’"

Waterloo alumnus Steve Hayman penned a tribute to Linda that focuses on her involvement in a now-legendary prank that turned into a fitting homage to the Waterloo spirit: The Varsity Briefcase Drill Team, which first performed a dance routine (in business suits and briefcases) at a Waterloo Warriors basketball game in 1987, backed by the Warriors Band playing a rendition of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5".

The concept of a Waterloo-appropriate answer to the traditional squad of cheerleaders was hatched by Carson, Hayman, and Paul McKone over drinks at the Grad House, which is in and of itself a very Waterloo-appropriate origin story. Carson, a veteran of FASS, became the team's choreographer.

What was supposed to be a one-off performance turned into a repeat engagement, the team wound up marching in the Santa Claus parade, and, years later, re-formed in time for the University's 40^th anniversary celebrations in 1997.

"That was just one thing Linda did for us all," Hayman writes. "So many great endeavours are all due to someone who took the time to implement a silly idea, rather than just laughing it off and saying “yeah, that would be cool.” It was cool. And Linda is why."

A message from Overlap Associates, where Linda served as Chief, Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Creativity, reads "Overlap would not be Overlap without the influence of Linda. She has been our loyal friend, mentor, colleague, teacher and advisor since our very start."

Linda set up a bequest to the University to establish two new student awards:

• The Linda Carson Memorial Interdisciplinary Award will be awarded to full-time undergraduate students (from any Faculty) based on the excellence of an interdisciplinary project that has been completed for academic credit.
• The Belonging Award will be awarded to support students who may feel, for whatever reason, like they do not belong in post-secondary education.

A private memorial service will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Wednesday, December 1 at 2:00 p.m. The service will be livestreamed and the link will be available on her online obituary.

Condolences for the family and donations to two new awards are appreciated and can be arranged through https://waterloo.imodules.com/LindaCarson.

Championing the advancement of eye and vision research

By Angie Docking and Elizabeth Kleisath. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo’s global hub for eye and vision research is taking on some of vision science’s most pressing challenges through five strategic research programs aimed to generate technologies to prevent vision loss and preserve healthy vision.

The Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), located in Hong Kong’s Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), is one of twenty-eight InnoHK global research centres funded by the Hong Kong government’s multibillion-dollar InnoHK initiative pairing top ranking global universities with local Hong Kong institutions. CEVR is unique among these InnoHK centres as one of only three equal partnerships between the Hong Kong institute and the global university, solidifying Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science as a leading global institution in vision research ranking fifth in the world.

For Bob Lemieux, Waterloo’s dean of Science, one of the most exciting aspects of CEVR’s location is the increased opportunity for learning and collaboration amongst researchers from many global institutions in one place.

“International collaborations are becoming the standard for addressing societal needs,” says Lemieux. “While CEVR is focused on the biggest challenges in vision science, there are other InnoHK centres next door to CEVR working on health-related areas like neurodegenerative diseases, microbiology and advanced biomedical instrumentation. They each operate in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem of Hong Kong Science Park to build an incredible pool of talent and hopefully one in which we’ll be able to cross-fertilize and develop new collaborations in health-based research.” 

Translating research into a commercialized and sustainable business model is CEVR’s long-term goal. Strategically positioned in one of Asia’s diverse start-up ecosystems, technologies developed at CEVR will first be approved in China and Hong Kong, leading to greater commercialization opportunities in the Asian market where rates of myopia and dry eye disease are high.

First global study on dry eye disease

At CEVR, Waterloo’s Dr. William Ngo is working alongside a research team to comparatively characterize the microbiome and biochemistry of the ocular surface between the Asian and Canadian populations. With these findings, Dr. Ngo and PolyU’s Dr. Thomas Lam will identify novel markers that can be used to develop new technologies to treat and prevent dry eye.

Dr. Ngo says this research is the only comparative study of dry eye disease that has been executed on a global scale.

“Bringing together our clinical and basic sciences expertise from both sides of the world has been critical in helping us to identify what differences exist and how risk factors differ between the two populations,” Ngo says.

As part of its five-year plan, one of CEVR’s goals is to leverage their expertise to create the world’s first centre dedicated exclusively to dry eye research and prevention.

Tackling the largest challenges in vision science

Myopia (commonly known as nearsightedness) is a condition where the eye grows too long, causing blurred vision and increasing the risk of serious eye disease later in life. Myopia prevalence is on the rise across the globe — particularly in Asian populations — and is increasing the risk of vision loss. Despite its prevalence, the cause of myopia is still unknown. Led by Waterloo’s Dr. Deborah Jones, researchers at CEVR are leading the world in the development of technologies that slow, prevent or reverse myopia progressionto preserve eye health.

Delivery of drugs to the eye remains a significant challenge for drug formulation scientists. Developing solutions for drug delivery, especially to the back of the eye, has been identified as a key unmet need by eyecare practitioners world-wide. Dr. Lyndon Jones’ (Waterloo) research at CEVR relates to the development of new technologies to deliver sight-saving drugs to both the front and the back of the eye, for a wide variety of diseases, including ocular allergy, microbial keratitis, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, through eye drops, ocular surface inserts and contact lenses.

Older adults are becoming increasingly at risk for vision problems such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and the effects of stroke. Older adults are becoming increasingly at risk for vision problems such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and the effects of stroke. Waterloo’s Dr. Tammy Labreche and Dr. Susan Leat are developing new techniques to assess the impact of stroke and create new approaches to management and rehabilitation to improve quality of life.

Dr. Ben Thompson, CEO of CEVR and University of Waterloo faculty member, working with a patient in the CEVR clinic.

Research in optometric technology is crucial for the maintenance of healthy vision in the aging population. At CEVR, a new type of non-invasive eye scan developed and patented by Professor Melanie Campbell of Waterloo's Department of Physics and Astronomy is using polarized light to highlight deposits called amyloid proteins found at the back of patients’ retinas decades before they experience cognitive decline from brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Despite the distance, collaboration between Waterloo and PolyU has been key to CEVR’s early success in global vision research, says the Centre’s CEO Dr. Ben Thompson.

“By assembling a team of world-leading researchers across two internationally renowned institutions, CEVR is allowing us to significantly advance eye and vision health in Canada, Hong Kong and world-wide.”

More information on CEVR can be found on their website.