GIVS Council

Rovin is a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. William Ngo.

With a longstanding passion for ocular health and vision science, I completed my BSc in Ophthalmic Medical Technology and MSc in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. My master’s research focused on retinal vessel characteristics and their relationships with various health and lifestyle factors, as well as ocular and systemic diseases. Outside of school, I love cooking new recipes, going to spin class, and exploring the city for new restaurants and local shops!

Under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Hunter, my PhD research will focus on retinal imaging using adaptive optics. With a clinical background as an ophthalmic technologist, I am interested in advancing diagnostic techniques for earlier ocular disease detection to help prevent vision loss and improve patient outcomes. 

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science with a minor in French from the University of Waterloo in 2022, and a Master of Education from Ontario Tech University in 2024. I enjoy reading and have a deep passion for philosophy.

My work focuses on advancing the understanding of Sjögren’s syndrome-related dry eye disease as this is a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder with severe impacts on the quality of life of patients.

Cindy recently earned an Honours Bachelor of Science degree with distinction from the Biomedical Sciences program at the University of Waterloo. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong academic and research foundation in neuroscience, physiology, and experimental design, earning several awards including the President’s Scholarships of Distinction, Science Undergraduate Student Opportunity Award, and President’s Research Awards. She is now pursuing her Master of Science in Vision Science under the supervision of Dr. Ben Thompson in the Human Visual Neuroscience Lab.

Cindy’s research focuses on understanding how binocular vision can be improved in adults with amblyopia through perceptual training and visual neuroplasticity. Her current project examines how motion-based visual tasks can be used to study and enhance depth perception. The long-term goal of this work is to contribute to the development of accessible, evidence-based rehabilitation tools for improving binocular function.

I am a second-year Master's student in the Vision Science program under the supervision of Dr. Krista Kelly.

My project involves investigating eye-body coordination during balance in children with amblyopia. I hope to continue working in the field of Optometry & Vision Science with further education after completing my Master's.

Lauren is a PhD student in Vision Science. She is also the President of the Graduates in Vision Science Student Council. She is currently working on a project involving eye-body coordination during walking in children with amblyopia under the supervision of Dr. Krista Kelly. Outside the lab, she enjoys card/board games and photography.

Lauren is studying amblyopia and Binocular Vision. With her research, she hopes to help understand the impact of amblyopia and impaired binocular vision on the everyday lives of children and hopes to help find interventions and programs to help these children succeed physically, socially and academically.