In this section of the Insight alumni newsletter, we invite you to share your personal updates with other Optometry & Vision Science alumni, up to a maximum of 100 words, with an optional photo. We’d all love to hear about your weddings, babies, retirements, achievements, milestones and anything else you’d like to share.
Dr. Afua Asare (MSc '13) is a University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science alum who’s now working in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her journey to where she is today has been filled with ups and downs.
Dr. Ehsan Zare Bidaki, a postdoctoral fellow, has been working to effectively measure ocular surface temperature since he started his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Paul Murphy of the School and Dr. Alexander Wong of Engineering. Now Zare Bidaki and Murphy are working to commercialize the device they have developed as a screening tool for dry eye and, in future, other ocular surface diseases.
A range of VIPs, including The Right Honorable David Johnston, University President Vivek Goel, Dean of Science Chris Houser, Stan Woo and members of the Seeing Beyond 20/20 campaign steering committee put shovels in the ground to ceremonially mark the start of construction on the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI), which will be Canada’s premier centre for optometric patient care, education and research.
For more than 40 years, Stephen Tait (OD’79) wore two optometric hats: owner-optometrist at Ingersoll Optometry and part-time clinical supervisor at the School. He recently hung up both hats – but we couldn’t let him go without giving him a chance to explain why he kept being both a small-town optometrist and a beloved mentor to students for so long.
Some 300 people participated in our events during Alumni CE Weekend, which featured the WEI groundbreaking. In addition to the evidence-informed learning, there were opportunities to connect at the Oktoberfest in June dinner and the Saturday social, which brought together CE and Eye Data & AI Summit participants. The Class of 1974 also held its 50th reunion.
Learn what your old friends have been up to and get inspired by the activities of alumni from other cohorts!
Dr. Stanley Woo shares his thoughts on a busy schedule of significant events – the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI) groundbreaking, the Eye Data & AI Summit, Alumni CE Weekend, the Alumni of Honour Awards, Convocation, Spring Awards Ceremony and Graduation Celebration. These major milestones for our faculty, staff, students and community mark new starts and the flourishing of optometry and vision science in Canada.
For the past 20 years Canadian optometrists have participated in an annual, worldwide study to investigate the current state of contact lens prescribing. The Center for Ocular Research & Education at the University of Waterloo collaborates with the University of Manchester (UK) to investigate the current state of contact lens prescribing in their respective countries. The benefit of the survey is to enable practitioners to gain an understanding of current contact lens prescribing trends in Canada as well as other countries worldwide. In the past, paper surveys were mailed to practitioners throughout Canada. This year we are moving to a different format.
Dr. Robert Lidkea has been first in a lot of areas, starting when he forced a tuxedo-clad doctor to leave a New Year’s party to deliver him in North Bay. He was the hospital’s first baby of 1931. Recently, however, he gave up on being last – the oldest practicing optometrist in Ontario. He turned 93 the day he retired from his practice in Fort Frances, Ontario.