News

People who suffer a concussion often experience visual disorders, such as double vision and difficulty focusing, as a result of their injury. However, very little is known about these often debilitating symptoms and how long they may last.

A group of researchers, including Dr. Kristine Dalton of the School of Optometry & Vision Science, is hoping to change that. The researchers recently received funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for a two-year study that may be the first step toward new treatments for concussion-related vision disorders.

Dr. Stanley Woo will serve a second term as Director of the School of Optometry & Vision Science after a strong majority of faculty and staff voted in favour of reappointment.

Macular degeneration is the leading causes of blindness in industrialized countries. Now, University of Waterloo researchers have found that a single session of non-invasive brain stimulation of the visual cortex can reduce the effects of the disease, a discovery that could eventually allow patients with macular degeneration to recover their vision.

Widespread use of face masks has been determined essential to combat COVID-19’s spread, yet is giving rise to a new phenomenon: increased reports of dry, uncomfortable eyes. Experts from the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) are advising eye care professionals (ECPs) on how to recognize mask-associated dry eye (MADE) and methods to mitigate the condition.

We are excited to officially welcome Dr. Julie Shalhoub to the School! Dr. Shalhoub will provide care primarily in the Binocular Vision and Vision Therapy clinics.

Dr. Andre Stanberry was a panelist in a recent webinar on race issues hosted by SUNY College of Optometry. Dr. Stanberry, who also chairs the Science Anti-Racism Taskforce at Waterloo, spoke about a consequential conversation he had on his first day of optometry school.

For the first time, the searchable contact lens database for eye care practitioners—the Contact Lens Compendium—is accessible in the United States.

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs hosted the first ever virtual University of Waterloo Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Biologist Isabel Hilgendag and vision scientist Yara Mohiar both represented the Faculty of Science. Mohiar won second place, making her the fourth student from the School of Optometry & Vision Science to place/win at the university level competition.

The “Class of 2020” may have the most appropriate name possible for a graduating class of optometrists. 2020 has been called the Year of Vision by eye care professionals around the world, and this class was set to hit the ground in the summer of 2020 with their license to practice in hand.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and what should have been the culmination of four years of intense study for optometry doctoral students was disrupted, leaving the students and the School of Optometry and Vision Science struggling to find solutions.