Feature

Director's message

Earlier this month, the newest cohort of optometrists, the class of 2028, entered the doors in Waterloo and began their journey into the profession. This class may be the first class of optometrists to begin their clinical practice within the Waterloo Eye Institute, set to open in 2026.

Double your impact today – matching gift opportunity

Dr. Victor Spear (OD’82) is helping us bring our vision for the Waterloo Eye Institute to life with a generous $250,000 matching gift. As construction on the Waterloo Eye Institute advances, we’re in the final stretch to reach our $35 million goal. With $7 million left to raise, now is the time to act. Every dollar you donate will be matched, doubling your impact and helping us achieve our vision. Together, we can make this dream a reality!

Optometry clinic temporarily moving

The School of Optometry and Vision Science’s clinic is moving to an interim location on Phillip Street during construction of the Waterloo Eye Institute

As construction begins on the transformative Waterloo Eye Institute, the School of Optometry and Vision Science's clinic will temporarily relocate. The interim location, just minutes away, will continue offering comprehensive eye care and specialized services with the same level of excellence while providing quality clinical education to our optometry students.

Retirement of several longtime faculty members

Over the summer, several of our faculty members who you may remember from your time as a student, announced their retirement and concluded their teaching and clinical careers. Read each of their stories of impact on teaching and research: Dr. Murchison Callendar, Dr. Jeffrey Hovis, Dr. Elizabeth Irving, Dr. Daphne McCulloch and Dr. Trefford Simpson.

From practicing optometry in Ghana to health services research for disadvantaged children

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.

A farewell note from Andrea Carthew, longtime staff member

We bid a heartfelt farewell to Andrea Carthew, longtime Associate Director, Advancement whose dedication and hard work have been invaluable to our School and the optometric profession for the last 20 years. Andrea is pursuing a new opportunity at the University of Waterloo Faculty of Health as the new Director of Advancement.

Class notes

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.

Director's Message

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.

Director's Message March 2024

Spring has sprung and with it a renewed enthusiasm for new growth and exciting opportunities in 2024. First and foremost, we’re excited that the day is truly arriving for the groundbreaking of the Waterloo Eye Institute! Our moonshot project has arrived to create a national centre of excellence to support education, research, patient care access, and community impact.

Breaking ground on the Waterloo Eye Institute

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.

Groundbreaking and Alumni Weekend announcement

You’re invited for a celebratory weekend at the School! Alumni CE Weekend offers a golden opportunity for optometrists to enrich their knowledge and skills with 12 hours of continuing education (CE) credits while reconnecting with former classmates and colleagues in Waterloo. Our esteemed faculty and guest speakers will delve into cutting-edge advancements and best practices, ensuring attendees stay at the forefront of their profession. As part of this momentous occasion, we are thrilled to announce the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Waterloo Eye Institute on Friday June 7, 2024. This groundbreaking marks the beginning of an exciting chapter in our school's history—a chapter dedicated to advancing eye care, research and education.

Seeing more with advanced eye imaging

New School of Optometry & Vision Science research centre poised to make advancements in understanding diseases and conditions of the eye and beyond

A new research centre at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science aims to use advanced eye imaging to make breakthroughs in better understanding, diagnosing and treating eye conditions and diseases. It also aims to use the eye's unique properties to find biomarkers that could aid interdisciplinary teams in the early identification of systemic disease.

Alumni CE Weekend offers learning and connection

Optometrists return to Waterloo for Alumni CE Weekend

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.

Alumni Spotlight: Robert Lidkea

Stepping away from a 72-year career

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.

ThermOcular AI aims to take the temperature of the eye

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.

Alumni spotlight: Dr. Stephen Tait

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.

Upcoming events

2024 has started off with a welcomed flurry of events at the School and in our community. Here are few you won't want to miss!

Class Notes

Learn what your old friends have been up to and get inspired by the activities of alumni from other cohorts!

Contact Lens Prescribing Survey

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.

Class notes

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.

Director's Message December 2023

As the end of the year approaches, Dr. Stan Woo looks back and celebrates the School of Optometry and Vision Science’s achievements, including on Giving Tuesday. He also highlights recognition for students as well as for researchers Drs. William Ngo and Lyndon Jones. He then looks forward to the year ahead with an invitation to Alumni Weekend and highlights a new feature – Class Notes.

A model for northern eye care

The School collaborated with the Churchill Health Centre (CHC), the Manitoba Association of Optometrists and an anonymous donor to set up a state-of-the-art optometry lane at the CHC. Crucially, the equipment will remain in northern Manitoba to make it easier for optometrists to serve northern and remote communities, while the teleoptometry capabilities of the new equipment will enable follow-up care between visits.

When optometry runs in the family

Our latest alumni spotlight highlights the mother-daughter pair of Jenna Braham (OD ’23) and Manon Hapke (OD ‘91), both proud Waterloo grads and Ottawa-based optometrists. Both were influenced by seeing how older optometrists balanced work and family life while caring for their patients. The pair also reflect on how optometric education has evolved over time.

Advanced procedures

Registration is opening soon for the COPE-accredited Advanced Procedures Certificate Course, where you can enhance your knowledge and skills in laser procedures commonly used to treat anterior segment disease and minor surgical procedures commonly used for eyelid lesions. The course includes online modules, live virtual lectures and hands-on workshops in Waterloo.

Working to prevent dry eye disease

Dr. William Ngo has received an NSERC Discovery Grant to help enable his fundamental research on better understanding cellular aging at the front of the eye, how aging is linked to inflammation in the eye, and using bioinformatics techniques with the aim of discovering novel compounds that might modulate aging and inflammation and thus prevent dry eye disease.

Class notes

In this new 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. To start us off, we have gathered publicly available information about our alumni, but for next time, we look forward to hearing about your weddings, babies, retirements, achievements, milestones and anything else you’d like to share.

Director's Message

With plenty going on at the start of a new academic year, Director Stan Woo shares his thoughts on developments for the Waterloo Eye Institute, research and continuing education highlights, and how you can help the School of Optometry & Vision Science pull off a hat trick on Giving Tuesday 2023.

Waterloo Eye Institute to become a reality

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.

Research Spotlight: Adaptive optics and ocular imaging

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.

Alumni Spotlight: Joshua Smith (OD ’13)

Josh Smith (OD ’13) went from being worried he'd be the oldest student at the School of Optometry & Vision Science to being class president and winning the Coreal Cup. Catch up with what's he's been doing in the decade since as an Eastern Ontario-based clinician, leader, volunteer and donor.

Waterloo Eye Institute Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show

We hope you’ll be able to join us for this annual event, presented in collaboration with the Ontario Association of Optometrists. It will feature lectures by the 2023 Bobier and Woodruff Distinguished Lecture award honourees, Dr. Trefford Simpson and Dr. Chi-ho To. This year’s event theme is therapeutic prescribing agents.

Director's Message

Director Stan Woo highlights the historic deal reached by the OHIP negotiation committee to allow for the final design and construction tender for the Waterloo Eye Institute. Along with more highlights, click here to view the Director’s full message.

The return of the Corneal Cup

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.

Representing the human side of aviation sustainability

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.

Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH): New directions

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.

Finding love in Optometry

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.

UWaterloo Optometry “Wins” Big on Giving Tuesday 2022

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!

Dr. Marta Witer (OD ’79) and the Ihnatowycz Family Foundation encourage fellow optometrists to come together for a great cause

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).

Brain stimulation improves reading ability in macular degeneration patients

A new study is the first to show brain stimulation improves reading in patients with macular degeneration.

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.

Alumni Spotlight: Class of 1991

Classmates give back to the Seeing Beyond 2020 Campaign, bringing benefits to Canada and beyond

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.

Director’s Message

Director Stanley Woo shares a few School updates over the Winter Term – including some continuing education tidbits and news on the Waterloo Eye Institute’s ground-breaking!

Exercise can provide relief for dry, itchy eyes

A new study from the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science discovered that a significant increase in tear secretion and tear film stability after participating in aerobic exercise can be another remedy for relieving dry, itchy eyes.

Delivering sight-saving drugs better, for longer

Researchers at Waterloo’s Centre for Eye and Vision Research are developing new technologies to improve drug time and efficiency.

Alberta Association of Optometrists invests in the profession’s future

A recent gift from the AAO is supporting initiatives that advance the profession to ensure Canadian optometrists can be trained at the highest scope of practice in North America – both presently and in the future.

Celebrating Dr. Kenneth Hadley

In December, Dr. Hadley retired after four decades at the University of Waterloo.

Achieving her childhood dream

Meet Allison Binnie, Class of 2021

For Dr. Allison Binnie (OD’21), achieving her Doctor of Optometry degree was a full-circle moment after an ambitious prediction in her Grade 8 yearbook.

Turning your ZEISS Partner Points into impact

Thanks to a new partnership with ZEISS Canada, you can now take advantage of another way to support of the Waterloo Eye Institute – by contributing your ZEISS Partner Points!

Reducing human error for passenger safety

Interdisciplinary research members of Waterloo’s new Institute for Sustainable Aviation will examine pilot error to strengthen training practices

As a member of the new Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics interdisciplinary research team, UWOVS’ Dr. Elizabeth Irving is investigating the interaction of vision with flight training to establish evidence-based vision qualifications for pilots.

Giving thanks by giving back

A grateful patient shows his appreciation for a Waterloo optometry alumnus Dr. Stelios Nikolakakis (OD’96) with the establishment of a new scholarship award.

Director's Message

Director Stanley Woo shares what’s new at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science.