News

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.

June 18^th marked Convocation Day for the Class of 2020. But unlike other years, these graduates won’t walk across the stage to the applause of their peers, families and friends.

Thanks to the pandemic which cancelled in-person celebrations, they received their degrees in the mail, along with video congratulations from University President Feridun Hamdullahpur, a letter of congratulations from School Director Stanley Woo, and personal notes from staff and faculty.

The School is proud to announce that graduate students Dania Abuleil and Amy Chow have each won the Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student.

Drs. Lyndon Jones, Shamrozé Khan and Marlee Spafford are among the recipients of the 2019 Outstanding Performance Award. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and scholarship and is awarded to faculty in each of the University’s six Faculties. Our WOVS professors were among 15 honorees from the Faculty of Science.

Hendrik Walther, a clinical scientist in our Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE), wasn’t about to let COVID-19 get in the way of running the 2020 Boston Marathon last month. Instead, he created his own 46 km route around KW, visiting many CORE colleagues (from a distance) along the way. Read more about his race in Waterloo's Daily Bulletin.

Congratulations, Hendrik, and we hope to cheer you on in the next Boston Marathon!

By 2050, it’s estimated that 50 per cent of the world’s population will be myopic. In a video originally aired last fall, Dr. Debbie Jones discusses rising rates of myopia in young children, why it’s important to diagnose and manage myopia, and the products that are available to help slow the progression of the condition.