With a background in physics and vision science, Dr. Jennifer Hunter has developed a non-invasive way of looking at cell layers in the retina to measure biomarkers of disease. Her goal is to apply her research to patients in the early stages of disease and prevent vision loss.
It felt at first like a moonshot, but after years of planning, two leadership gifts are helping us make the Waterloo Eye Institute a reality. Contributions totaling $8.5 million from vision care providers FYidoctors and IRIS have helped us raise enough funds to put shovels in the ground in 2024.
Canada’s student chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) have cautiously begun organizing eye care clinics following the pandemic, and there are exciting new directions in the works as they seek to provide more sustainable support to remote communities around the world.
After meeting in their first year at the school of Optometry, Drs Michelle Georgi and Scott Mundle would dedicate their lives to not only each other, but to the field of Optometry. From graduating in 1983 and moving to British Columbia to start practices, to traveling to Northern Manitoba to provide care to remote Indigenous communities. Find out more in this article about the journey Michelle and Scott have been on since they first met all those years ago.
The aviation industry presents a vastly complicated set of problems, with many requiring solutions that delve into multiple disciplines at once. The new Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) aims to help solve these problems with its interdisciplinary approach. Dr Elizabeth Irving, a professor from The School of Optometry and Vision Science has recently joined the team to represent the human aspects of aviation sustainability, with a primary focus on the shortage of pilots as well as the quality of their training.
The yearly Corneal Cup has been won once again! The Unicorneas, on a dominant run during this year’s annual optometry hockey tournament, edged out a victory against the Trisceleratops in the finals of the tournament.
Drug treatments only slow down the progression of the disease, but Waterloo scientists discovered they could train the brain to use the information it receives more efficiently.
We recently caught up with former classmates, Susan, “Sue” Beaton (OD 91’), Patricia, “Trish” Campbell (OD 91’) and Andrea Mierzynski (OD 91’) and asked them to reflect on their experience as Optometry students, and why they choose to work with us as class rep volunteers for the Seeing Beyond 2020 campaign.
We are excited to announce that from now until October 15, 2023, Dr. Marta Witer and the Ihnatowycz Family Foundation are making a pledge to match all donations made by optometrists across Canada and the US, dollar for dollar - up to $1 million! These gifts will go towards the School of Optometry and Vision Science’s Seeing Beyond 2020 campaign to help fund the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI).
This past Giving Tuesday was one for the history books. The School of Optometry and Vision Science was the "little department that could" as alumni and friends came together to support the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI), taking the title of the Most Donors and Most Dollars challenges!