News

The School of Optometry & Vision Science has been closely monitoring the developments pertaining to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and its impact on our continuing professional development (CPD/CE) programming.

In light of the current global health crisis, we have made the decision to deferour CE 2020 weekend, scheduled for June 5-7, to a later date. We are tentatively rescheduling for the fall.

Congratulations to Waterloo Optometry & Vision Science (WOVS) graduate student Yara Mohiar who placed first in the Faculty of Science heat of the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition!

Waterloo Optometry students will travel to London, Ontario on March 9^th for Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day 2020. They’ll join students from a wide variety of disciplines to explore professional roles while building their communication skills and a better understanding of collaborative practice.

Dozens of athletes will be travelling to Milton, Ontario next week for the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships. For some of them, however, their first stop won’t be the velodrome but the University of Waterloo’s Optometry Clinic.

In partnership with the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), Cycling Canada, Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Canadian Blind Sports Association, the clinic is hosting a classification event where athletes with vision impairments will be assessed to determine their eligibility to compete.

A simple new test being developed by University of Waterloo researchers could help detect vision impairment in very young children, allowing them to receive sight-saving treatment as soon as possible.

Quantum technology has the potential for application in a wide range of disciplines, including vision science. Dr. Ben Thompson of the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science recently spoke about how the technology has impacted his work at the launch of a new quantum research program.

Did you know that more than 290 million contact lenses end up in Canadian landfills or waterways every year? The lenses break down into microplastics that can harm the environment.

You can now recycle your used contact lenses at the University of Waterloo’s Optometry Clinic.

Waterloo alumnus Kristine Dalton (OD ’07, MSc ’10) is helping to develop a sport-specific classification system that will level the playing field (or in this case the ski hill) for Paralympic athletes.

The American Academy of Optometry held its 98^th annual meeting (along with the 3rd World Congress of Optometry) in Orlando, Florida last week and the School of Optometry & Vision Science was well-represented. Both students and faculty shared their research and expertise over four days of lectures, workshops and poster presentations. In addition, a number of our members receive awards, designations and other recognition and we welcomed 200 people to our annual Canadian Alumni and Friends reception.

Here are the highlights from Academy 2019!

Dr. Patricia Hrynchak has been appointed Senior Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Science for a 3-year term starting November 1, 2019.