For its centenary, the journal Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO) ranked the papers published within its pages by the number of times they had been cited. Two University of Waterloo papers made the list in the article, “The most impactful papers in OPO,” with one of them occupying the top spot.
The paper, “Refractive plasticity of the developing chick eye,” by retired School of Optometry and Vision Science faculty members Drs. Elizabeth Irving, Jacob Sivak and Murchison Callender, has the most citations of any original research paper published by OPO since 1981. What’s more, it has a high yearly citation rate, indicating it has remained relevant over time.
This discovery was among the scientific advances that led to the development of myopia control techniques, in common use today, that slow down the rate of myopia progression in children. The result is that children become less nearsighted, which may prevent the development later in life of sight-threatening conditions associated with high myopia.
Dr. Ben Thompson is the second author on the paper, “Binocular vision in amblyopia: structure, suppression and plasticity,” which also made the list. Published in 2014, the year Thompson started as a professor at the School, the paper outlined the theoretical basis and evidence base for a new paradigm in treatment for amblyopia.
