For more than 40 years, Dr. Gina Sorbara’s passion for optometry led to her extraordinary contributions to contact lens research and education, and the profession. An internationally recognized contact lens educator, Sorbara led the School’s Contact Lens Clinic from 1984 until her retirement due to illness in 2020.
Lecturing in Advanced Contact Lens Fitting, Sorbara was heavily involved in research at the Centre for Contact Lens Research (now the Centre for Ocular Research & Education) and has conducted research in topics ranging from specialty lens designs for keratoconus, corneal topography, orthokeratlogy and fluorophotometry. For over four decades, Dr. Sorbara was an active member of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE), in addition to a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the British Contact Lens Association.
“Honouring Gina by establishing the Dr. Gina Sorbara Contact Lens Residency appropriately represents her passion for teaching, research and advancing specialty patient care. Gina had an incredible impact on the School and the profession she loved so dearly; we are grateful to have this opportunity to celebrate her legacy.”
Optometric residencies are one-year, post-graduate, experiential training programs in areas of particular focus that advance patient care skills beyond entry-level practice. The School will welcome the first Dr. Gina Sorbara Contact Lens Residency position in July 2021.
To support this residency in perpetuity, the School is establishing an endowment fund to help students who hold this esteemed position.
“In keeping with Gina’s nature, the desire of the fund is to provide financial support with a spirit of care and prosperity for the recipient,” said Gina’s husband, Ben Giddens O.D.
To make a gift toward the Dr. Gina Sorbara Contact Lens Residency, please click here or contact Andrea Carthew, Associate Director, Advancement, at acarthew@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567 ext. 46319.