News

Have you ever wondered why some people can swim for hours in a cold lake while others don’t last a minute? Everyone has a different tolerance for cold water, in much the same way that everyone processes pain differently. While an optometrist, Emmanuel Alabi, now a doctoral candidate in Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science, noticed it’s hard to predict how patients will handle the discomfort of routine medical procedures. That’s why he’s researching how the eye can be used as an objective measure of pain.

RxTx, formerly known as eCPS, is the most comprehensive Canadian solution to drug information and therapeutics. Many alumni and CAO members already take advantage of access to RxTx provided by the Witer Learning Resource Centre at the School of Optometry and Vision Science. For Alumni and CAO member access to RxTx contact: wlrc@uwaterloo.ca

The School of Optometry & Vision Science is fortunate to have a tremendous complement of exceptional students, faculty, staff and alumni whose efforts are regularly recognized by colleagues and the profession. The Academy is no different and there were many who were acknowledged during the American Academy of Optometry in Anaheim, CA in November. 

On March 28, 2016, 91 first year uWaterloo optometry students attended their first annual interprofessional education (IPE) day. Joining them were students from uWaterloo pharmacy and Western University medicine and dentistry, as well as students in physiotherapy and speech language pathology.

In 2017, the School of Optometry & Vision Science will celebrate our 50th Anniversary since moving to the University of Waterloo in 1967. The 50th Anniversary – Distinguished Alumni of Honour Awards will help mark this important milestone and acknowledge exceptional alumni.

In 2017, the School of Optometry and Vision Science will mark its 50th anniversary since moving to the University of Waterloo in 1967. We hope you will join us to mark this important milestone!

The University of Waterloo’s Optometry Clinic (School of Optometry and Vision Science) partnered with Plastic Plus in conjunction with the Pinball Clemens Foundation to provide vision screening and full eye examinations for over 200 children and youth at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in Toronto.  Other contributors included Zeiss and Innova who provided the optical equipment needed for the screenings and eye exams.  The Optometry Clinic aims to provide follow-up care for those children identified as requiring additional eye care.

The team from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Science and the CNIB found that near-sightedness, or myopia, increases from 6 per cent to 28.9 per cent over the age range studied. Children from the Waterloo Region and Waterloo Catholic District School Boards participated in the landmark study and overall, 17.5 per cent of them are near-sighted.

The Optometry Rack Pack fundraised over $6,400 this year.  That brings our four year total to over $40,000! The Rack Pack was again honoured with the ‘Post-Secondary Team Challenge Award’ for the institution with the most funds raised to support the cause.

New faculty: Dr. Shamrozé (Zay) Khan, new residencies, new conference and award, and American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) Trade Show