The American Academy of Optometry has named WOVS alumna Dr. Barbara Caffrey, OD, PhD, FAAO as its new president. She is the first Canadian woman to lead the Academy.
In 2009, Dr. Caffrey completed her PhD in Vision Science here at the School under the supervision of Dr. Trefford Simpson. We asked Trefford to share some memories of his time with her:
"Barbara’s PhD was exceptional in many ways. As a mature student doing graduate work while also maintaining a busy practice and professional life, she finished her PhD in a remarkably short time, illustrating her indefatigability and laser-sharp focus.
Her graduate work was a continuation of her world-class clinical research on the problems of dry eye and Sjogren’s Syndrome that produced some remarkable results, not the least of which was how important the conjunctiva was in understanding this disease.
One of my clearest memories during that time was Barbara’s interaction with a mathematician who was helping with the data analysis, and her diligent explanations of the clinical characteristics to be analyzed and also, then, her intense listening about what the issues were with the novel data analysis she used.
This published work included the mathematician, optometrists and ophthalmologists and this illustrates the multidisciplinary ethos with which she tackles many problems. So now, in addition to her international stature as a clinician and a scientist and we can add leader in international optometry, and on this, too, she promises to leave her indelible stamp."
