Thursday, September 21, 2023

Waterloo Eye Institute's vision to become a reality

By Fram Dinshaw. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Thanks to support from the optometry profession, alumni and donors across Canada, the University of Waterloo will begin construction next year on the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI), a state-of-the-art facility supporting advances in vision research, optometric education and patient care.

At a celebration at Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science on September 19, gifts totalling $8.5 million from two of the country’s leading vision care providers — FYidoctors and IRIS, The Visual Group — were announced. These contributions and those of other generous donors have enabled the School to turn the corner on its $35 million Seeing Beyond 2020 campaign, making the construction of the Waterloo Eye Institute a reality.

“The Waterloo Eye Institute is needed more than ever as we face a national and global vision crisis, with one in five Canadians at risk of losing their sight from eye disease,” said Dr. Stanley Woo, director of the School.

Dr. Vivek Goel, Waterloo’s president and vice-chancellor, noted that “the WEI will leverage both the School of Optometry’s expertise and the University’s unconventional and collaborative approaches to research and education as well as provide excellent care for patients in our community.” 

Recognizing the strengths of the School of Optometry and the vision for the Waterloo Eye Institute, FYidoctors and IRIS have both stepped forward with unprecedented gifts, significantly contributing to the campaign. 

The FYidoctors network has made a historical contribution, donating $5 million in support of the WEI (including a $2.5 million corporate donation and $2.5 million in contributions from the company’s individual optometrists). IRIS has generously donated $2.5 million, in addition to an earlier $1 million gift to the WEI, made in November 2022.

With 67,000 square feet of new and renovated space, the WEI will push the boundaries of eye and vision care, clinical education and research to benefit patients in the Waterloo region and across the country.

“The WEI represents the future of optometry in Canada, and it will provide world-class education opportunities, equipping the next generation of optometrists to provide quality eye care. Students will gain immensely by working alongside healthcare professionals and experts in the WEI’s modernized clinic,” said Dr. Alan Ulsifer (OD ’90), CEO of FYidoctors.  

Dr. Woo added, “The WEI will be a national resource for our profession. It will offer us a chance to train and collaborate with optometrists from around the world as well as help us reach underserved and marginalized communities that are often at greatest risk of eye conditions. We are grateful to have the support of partners like IRIS and FYidoctors.”

On top of advancing optometric education and patient care, the WEI has the potential to shape the future of health care. Using the eye as a window to the brain, WEI researchers will deploy their expertise in AI, biomedical sciences and digital imagery to develop new treatments for widespread conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes.

Dr. Daryan Angle (OD ’01), vice-president of business development at IRIS, said: “Our support for the WEI aligns with IRIS’s commitment to funding eye and vision research and innovation. We hope to advance the profession in a way that keeps optometry in Canada healthy, strong and moving forward."

October Anti-Racism Reads: Let This Radicalize You

A message from the Library and Print + Retail Solutions. 

Join the Library and Print + Retail Solutions for the next Anti-Racism Reads discussion at Dana Porter Library on Thursday October 5. As part of Library Week, Jessica Hutchison will facilitate a conversation on Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the revolution of reciprocal care.  

“... With great clarity and generosity, Hayes and Kaba model how participants in movements can be tough on systems while being gentle with one another and themselves, nurturing a "counterculture of care" as an integral part of building the next world," writes Naomi Klein, author, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal   

This in-person event will take place from noon until 1:00 pm in Dana Porter’s third floor Learning Lab. To register for this event, please visit the Library’s website.

Copies of Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the revolution of reciprocal care are available through the Library's reserve system or for purchase at the W Store in South Campus Hall. Please note: We are working towards removing barriers to participation, providing easy access to the selected text. We have limited copies available free of cost for those who sign up for the event and indicate they'd like a copy on the registration form. 

St. Jerome's University presents the Lectures in Catholic Experience featuring Archbishop Bolen

A message from St. Jerome's University.

Since 1982, St. Jerome's University has brought the Lectures in Catholic Experience to the University of Waterloo community and beyond to address timely and relevant issues and questions facing the Church and the world. This year's theme for the series is "Legacies and Lessons."

As a society, we are grappling with the many challenges of social injustice left to us by previous generations, including the increasing gap between rich and poor, the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion, justice and reconciliation for Indigenous people, and sustainability and its implications for the very future of our planet. The first lecture is scheduled for September 28 and will feature Archbishop Donald Bolen, who will address the ongoing work of reconciliation with Indigenous People in his talk, entitled "The Wounds of the Past, Truth-telling and a Future of Hope: The Doctrine of Discovery and the Path of Reconciliation." 

Archbishop Bolen’s talk will address the Church's contemporary response to papal bulls of the 15^th century. The Doctrine of Discovery provided moral justification for colonizing powers to claim land as their own, land which had long been inhabited by Indigenous Peoples. This lecture aims to contend with what the “Doctrine” said, didn’t say and how it was received by a diversity of audiences. Finally, this lecture will reflect on the more extensive work of reconciliation and the challenge of being faithful to the Gospel in a context where wounds from the past continue to impact present relations.

“Last summer, the Pope visited Canada to apologize to Indigenous People for the operation of residential schools and the intergenerational harm that continues to this day from its legacy. It was during this initial visit that the Pope was also asked to respond to the Doctrine of Discovery. This topic is an important one for St. Jerome’s Lectures in Catholic Experience, and I cannot think of a more appropriate leader in the Canadian Church to speak to it than Archbishop Don Bolen. His humble, servant leadership has set a moving example for all committed to reconciliation and journeying towards a new relationship with Indigenous People,” says Peter Meehan, president and vice chancellor.

Since 2016, Donald Bolen has held the role of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Regina. He was born on Treaty 4 Territory in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. He has been active in ecumenical and justice work within the Canadian Conference for Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Bolen is actively involved in Indigenous relations and responding to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on both diocesan and national levels. He was recently a part of the Bishops' Working Group that worked on the Indigenous delegation to Rome in March 2022 and the Pope's visit to Canada in July 2022.

St. Jerome's University welcomes everyone to attend and participate in this lecture. The free event starts promptly at 7:30 p.m. on September 28 in the Notre Dame Chapel, in the SJ1 Library and Classrooms Building. The event will also be live-streamed for people who cannot attend in person. Please register for the event, as space in the Notre Dame Chapel is limited.

Profiles in postdocs

This article is published in support of National Postdoc Appreciation Week.

Did you know the University of Waterloo is a host to approximately 350 postdoctoral fellows (postdocs) from all around the world? Postdocs are an integral part of our community through research, teaching, mentorship, and development.

Learn more about them today by reading some of our postdoctoral fellow profiles. 

Thursday's notes

Yesterday I inadvertently left off a number of temporary/secondment positions that were supposed to go out with the weekly listings, so here they are:

• Job ID# 2023-11058  - Student Advisor (GTA West) - Co-operative Education, USG 8 - 9

• Job ID# 2023-11059  - Student Advisor (Waterloo Region) - Co-operative Education, USG 8 - 9 

• Job ID# 2023-11064 - Laboratory Clinic/Engineer - Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, USG 9 - 10 

As always, I regret the error.

The local music community took a blow this week with the announcement that the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony had cancelled its 2023-24 season just before it was set to begin and has suspended operations, including the symphony’s youth orchestra program. The symphony’s board reported that $2 million would be needed to proceed with the upcoming season.

“As far as I'm concerned science, humanities and engineering can only develop alongside a thriving arts community,” writes Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn from Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has reached out to colleagues across the University highlighting that musicians with the KWS have set up a crowdfunding effort to help raise the $2 million by Friday, September 22.

Here's today's Consent Awareness Week tip of the day:

It is important to teach children their body belongs to them. Children, like adults, have the right to decide who touches them and how. The learning of this valuable message can begin when children are toddlers. By hugging, kissing and tickling children without their permission we are teaching them that people can touch them without their consent.

Tip: Ask children before you hug, kiss or tickle them. Pay close attention to their body language and facial expressions for signs they are not comfortable. Model consensual behaviour. Teach them they can say no and that their body belongs to them.