Alumni

Dr. Alexa Hecht isn’t just another influencer – she’s an optometrist educating beauty product enthusiasts on eye health and safety.

Dr. Alex Müntz (PhD ’17), head of the Institute of Optometry at a Swiss university, has gone all over the world to deepen his understanding of the ocular surface.

This past November, Dr. Nadine Furtado and Waterloo optometry students Sophie Borho and Leah Cuscito participated along with several recent alumni in an Eye Health Institute volunteer trip to northwestern Jamaica. 

Gerry Leinweber is co-founder of international eye care charity Canadian Vision Care and optometry co-op Doctors Eyecare Network, now doing business as Eye Recommend. Learn how hockey in his youth led him into his life of service.

Dr. Afua Asare’s journey to where she is today has been anything but simple or easy. With four degrees under her belt, she is now employed at the University of Utah, working to improve vision care access for underprivileged children. 

Dr. Victor Spear has always believed in the power of investing in the future — and now, he’s leading by example. As a dedicated member of the Seeing Beyond 20/20 Campaign Steering Committee, Dr. Spear is stepping up with an incredible offer: for every dollar you donate, he will personally match it—up to $250,000!
 

Congratulations to Drs. Ben Thompson, Lisa Christian, and Marlee Spafford of the School of Optometry, along with Kerstin Dautenhahan of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This team of interdisciplinary collaborators have been awarded $25k from the Graham Seed Fund for their vision robotics research.

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.