Douglas P. Benoit, OD, FAAO
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Dr. Benoit is executive director of Professional Affairs for Visioneering Technologies, Inc. VTI is an Atlanta based medical device company, specializing in innovative multifocal and spherical daily disposable contact lenses.
Prior to this position, Dr. Benoit was senior optometrist with Concord Eye Center, a multi-sub-specialty ophthalmology group located in Concord, NH. His practice included general optometry with an emphasis on contact lenses, contact lens care and the treatment of external disease.
He received his doctor of optometry degree from The New England College of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts. In his final year of training, Dr. Benoit received the Frederick Farnum Alumni Association Award for his excellence in the contact lens field. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate of the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies. Dr. Benoit is a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow in the National Academies of Practice-Optometry Section, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Gas Permeable Lens Institute.
Dr. Benoit has been a consultant to, and clinical investigator for, various contact lens and pharmaceutical laboratories. He has published numerous articles and lectures frequently on contact lenses and external disease.
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Ava K. Bittner, OD, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Bittner received her Optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, and her PhD in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She completed a clinical research post-doctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, and then joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Nova Southeastern University, College of Optometry in Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Bittner's research involving visually impaired patients has examined the relationships between variability of vision and patient-related factors, and she also conducts clinical trials involving interventions for patients with retinitis pigmentosa.
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Etty Bitton, OD, MSc, FAAO, FBCLA
Dr. Bitton completed her Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo (1988), followed by a Master’s in Physiological Optics (1994) from the Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada) in the area of tear film clinical physiology and its relevance in patients exhibiting dry eye. She presently holds the rank of Associate professor and the Director of the Dry Eye Clinic. Dr. Bitton is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the British Contact Lens Association as well as a member of several regional and international professional organizations. Her research interests include tear film evaluation, dry eye and its effect on contact lens wear.
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Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MS, Captain, Medical Services Corps
Captain Tyson Brunstetter is a native of Northeast Ohio. He entered U.S. Navy service in 1996, and has since served primarily in Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) roles in Navy and Joint commands, working within areas such as laser eye protection; helmet-mounted cueing systems for tactical aircraft; advanced refractive surgery; and deployable battlefield/tactical medical devices. During 2010, he deployed to Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait as the sole DoD eye care provider for allied warfighters in Kuwait and southern Iraq.
Dr. Brunstetter received a BS degree in Molecular Biology from Grove City College in 1993; a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree from Ohio State University in 1997; MS and PhD degrees in Physiological Optics in 1997 and 2000, respectively, from Ohio State University; and an Executive MBA from the Naval Postgraduate School – Graduate School of Business & Public Policy in 2009. He was “winged” as a Navy Aerospace Optometrist in 2002, and earned Board Certification as an Aerospace Physiologist (CAsP) in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and the American Academy of Optometry.
Captain Brunstetter is currently detailed to the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Space Medicine Operations Division (SD), serving primarily as Clinical Lead (Eyes/Vision) in the efforts to unravel and mitigate a newly-discovered syndrome affecting astronauts during long-duration spaceflight, Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS).
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Mark A Bullimore, MCOptom, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Bullimore is an independent regulatory consultant, scientist and educator based in Boulder, Colorado. He received his Optometry degree and PhD in Vision Science from Aston University in Birmingham, England. He was a Professor at The Ohio State University College of Optometry for 15 years and taught a number of courses, including geometric optics and ophthalmic optics. Previously, he spent 8 years at the University of California at Berkeley and is currently Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry.
His research interests include myopia, low vision, contact lenses, and presbyopia. He received grants from the National Eye Institute to study adult myopia progression and several training grants supporting optometry students in a summer internship program.
He is former President and Development Director of the American Optometric Foundation. He is Associate Editor of Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics and the former Editor of Optometry and Vision Science. He served a four-year term on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Ophthalmic Devices Panel and is a consultant for a number of ophthalmic, surgical, and pharmaceutical companies in the areas of myopia, visual assessment, IOLs, presbyopia, and contact lenses.
He also develops iBooks for optometry at ridgevue.com.
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Angela M. Chen, OD, MS, FAAO
Angela Chen is an associate professor of Optometry at SCCO at MBKU. She received her OD and MS in Vision Science from the State University of New York, College of Optometry. She then completed a residency in Pediatric Optometry and Vision Therap SCCO. Angie is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a diplomate of the Binocular Vision, Perception, Pediatric Optometry Section.
Angie’s research interests include strabismus, amblyopia, and non-strabismic binocular vision disorders. Angie serves as a clinical investigator in several NEI supported studies for the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) and the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial-Attention and Reading Trial (CITT-ART). She is also a clinical director for the Special Olympics Opening Eyes vision screening program.
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Gary Y. Chu, OD, MPH, FAAO
Dr. Chu is the vice president of Professional Affairs at the New England College of Optometry. He received his Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree from the New England College of Optometry in 1995 and his Masters of Public Health (MPH) in 2002 from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
He has been in practice for over twenty-four years and is involved in the changing landscape of eye care and health care during this span of time. Dr. Chu has been in the forefront of leading change in eye care through the development of partnerships with health systems, federally qualified health centers, social service agencies, government, school systems, health payors, ophthalmic industry and optometry employer groups.
Dr. Chu has been involved in issues of diversity, equity and inclusion for over ten years and has served on the diversity and cultural competency committee for the Association of Schools (ASCO) and College of Optometry since 2011. He is the founding chair of ASCO’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) SIG and was the Guest Editor for the Journal of Optometric Education’s theme issue on diversity and cultural competency in 2017.
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Katie Connolly, OD, FAAO
Dr. Connolly graduated from the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University in 2014 and completed a residency in Pediatric Optometry at Indiana University School of Optometry (IUSO) in 2015. Dr. Connolly joined IUSO as an assistant clinical professor immediately following her residency. She currently serves as the chief of pediatrics/binocular vision, director of the school screening program, coordinator of the pediatric optometry residency at IU and is president of her local optometric society. She teaches courses on non strabismic binocular vision and optometric coding and billing. Her special interests include amblyopia and strabismus. She is fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is an active member of the American Optometric Association.
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Susan A Cotter, OD, MS, FAAO
Dr. Cotter is a Professor of Optometry at SCCO at MBKU. She received her OD from ICO, completed a residency in Children’s Vision at SCCO, and received her MS in Clinical and Biomedical Investigations from the USC’s Keck School of Medicine. She is an Academy Diplomate in Binocular Vision, Perception, and Pediatric Optometry and a Fellow of COVD.
As a pediatric optometrist and clinician-scientist, Sue’s primary research interests are clinical management strategies for strabismus, amblyopia, convergence insufficiency, and childhood refractive error. She is the Co-Chair of the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG), a National Eye Institute (NEI)-funded clinical research network of 350+ pediatric optometrists and ophthalmologists who perform clinical investigations related to pediatric eye disorders. She has also served in leadership positions for the following large-scale NEI-funded studies: the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study (MEPEDS), Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Refractive Error (CLEERE), Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), and CITT-Attention & Reading Trial (CITT-ART).
Sue serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Optometry and on the Scientific Bureau of the World Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (WSPOS). She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, as well as research-related awards including the 2019 Glenn A Fry Lecture Award from the Academy. Sue is editor of the textbook, Clinical Applications of Prisms.
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Anthony DeWilde, OD, FAAO
Dr. DeWilde is a graduate of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, College of Optometry. In 2008 he completed a residency at the VA Medical Center in Kansas City, where he trained in ocular disease and low vision rehabilitation.
He practices at the Kansas City VA Medical Center where he specializes in the diagnosis and management of ocular disease. Dr. DeWilde is passionate about education and has taught in a variety of settings including educating residents at the VA, students at University of Missouri – St. Louis, College of Optometry, and optometrists at state, national, and international meetings.
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Erin Draper, OD, FAAO
Dr. Draper earned her Doctorate of Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University. She completed a residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation at the Feinbloom Center and a fellowship in Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease at The Eye Institute. Dr. Draper is an Assistant Professor at Salus University.
She spends the majority of her time in clinical care at The Eye Institute in both the Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease Service and in Low Vision Rehabilitation. She also serves as the co-coordinator for the Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease Residency Program.
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Lianne Gensler, MD
Dr. Lianne Gensler is a rheumatologist and serves as director of the UCSF Ankylosing Spondylitis Clinic, which is dedicated to care for this inflammatory disease.
Gensler's primary research interest is the disease progression of axial spondyloarthritis (a category that includes ankylosing spondylitis). Her research also seeks to identify predictors of osteoporosis development in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Gensler earned her medical degree at the University of California, Irvine. She completed an internal medicine residency, chief residency and rheumatology fellowship at UCSF, and subsequently joined the medical staff in the rheumatology program.
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Mark Glazer, MD
Dr. Glazer graduated from Emory University in Atlanta Georgia in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated from the University of Louisville with an MD degree in 1979. Internship, Residency and Cardiology Fellowship were completed at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals. Currently, he practices General and Interventional Cardiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee where he holds the faculty position of Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and is Executive Medical Director of the VUMC Center for Health Information Management. He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology. He was a principal investigator in the 2015 ABSORB Trial, which studied the effectiveness of a completely bioresorbable scaffold to treat coronary artery disease. His professional activities include Co-chair of the 2012 Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute Heart Walk campaign, and he has created multiple music videos to promote the Heart Walk in Nashville.
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Jennifer Gould, MS, OD, FAAO
Dr. Gould is an Assistant Clinical Professor at SUNY College of Optometry where she spends time educating students in primary care, contact lens and glaucoma clinics.
Dr Gould has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Kettering University and spent time working as a Product Development Engineer in the automotive industry before pursuing a career as an Optometrist. She received both a Optometry degree and Master in Vision Science at SUNY College of Optometry and completed a residency at East New York Diagnostic and Treatment Center/SUNY Optometry with a focus on family practice and ocular disease.
Dr. Gould is a member of Volunteers for Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH) where she has traveled to provide eye care to underserved communities.
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Susan Gromacki, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS
Dr. Gromacki is an internationally-recognized clinician, educator, and author. She graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame and The Ohio State University College of Optometry and completed a residency in hospital-based optometry with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She has presented 625 lectures and publications and has served as Contributing Editor of CL Spectrum, Review of Cornea and Contact Lenses, and CL Today. She served on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. She is one of only 11 doctors worldwide to earn Fellowship in the Scleral Lens Education Society and Diplomate in Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies of AAO. She has presented on behalf of the profession of the profession to the US FDA and FTC, and in countries around the world. Recently, she received the 2018 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and was named one of the Most Notable Alumni in the 100-year history of The Ohio State University College of Optometry.
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M.H. Esther Han, OD, FCOVD, FAAO, Dipl ABO
Dr. M.H. Esther Han specializes in neuro-optometric rehabilitation. She is a full-time Associate Clinical Professor at the SUNY College of Optometry and the Residency Program Supervisor for the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Residency. She is involved in both the didactic and clinical training of optometric students, externs, and residents within the Vision Rehabilitation Service.
Dr. Han received her Bachelor of Arts in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University in 1995. She earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the SUNY College of Optometry in 2001 and subsequently completed a Residency in Vision Therapy and Rehabilitation at the SUNY College of Optometry in 2002. Dr. Han attained her fellowship in the College of Optometrists in Vision Development
(COVD) in 2005 and in the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) in 2011. Dr. Han attained her diplomate with the American Board of Optometry (ABO) in 2013. Dr. Han is currently a member of the COVD International Exam and Certification Board (IECB) since 2014 and a board member for the Eastern States Optometric Congress (ESOC) since 2013.
Dr. Han is well-published, having co-authored poster presentations, several peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters related to vision therapy and neuro-optometric rehabilitation. She has lectured domestically and internationally in China and Italy in the area of Acquired Brain Injury and also in the area of Vision Therapy. She has been invited to speak about “Vision Deficits and Acquired Brain Injury” to interdisciplinary rehabilitation specialists at the North Shore-LIJ (now Northwell) Transitions of Long Island Annual Symposium, Burke Rehabilitation Center, and Mount Sinai.
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Scott Hauswirth, OD, FAAO
Dr. Hauswirth is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he is coordinating director of the dry eye and ocular surface center, and a key leader in the development of the preoperative and collaborative care model within the Department of Ophthalmology. He graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry and completed his residency in Cornea, Glaucoma, and Surgical Management at Minnesota Eye Consultants, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he remained on staff for 18 years. He has participated in numerous research projects, is on the editorial board of four publications, is a frequent lecture on the national and international spectrum, and has authored several publications and texts.
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Jessica A. Haynes, OD, FAAO
Dr. Haynes graduated at the top of her class from Southern College of Optometry. Afterwards she completed a primary care residency at the Memphis VA medical center and then a two-year optometric retina fellowship at Charles Retina Institute in Germantown, TN. She currently practices as an associate optometrist at Charles Retina Institute and Consulting Faculty at Southern College of Optometry. She has published numerous articles and lectures primarily on the topic of posterior segment disease. She is involved in several optometric organizations and currently holds the positions of vice president of the West Tennessee Optometric Society and vice president of the TN chapter of the AAO.
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Timothy Hug, OD, FAAO
Dr. Hug is a graduate of the University Of Houston College Of Optometry, and has been in practice at the Children’s Mercy Hospital for the past 25 years. At the hospital, he is the director for the pediatric optometric residency program. He completed his Fellowship in the Academy in 2005, and continues to lecture and present at Academy, AOA meetings and the Midwest Pediatric Optometric Care Conference.
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Erin M. Kenny, OD, FAAO
Dr. Erin Kenny received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh. Upon graduation, Dr. Kenny obtained her Doctor of Optometry from Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry. She completed her residency at The Eye Institute in Low Vision and is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. In 2016, she received the William Feinbloom Low Vision Award and the Alfred A. Rosenbloom, Jr. Low Vision Residency Award. Dr. Kenny is currently a faculty member at Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry, which includes a role as Chief of the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center and Assistant professor.
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Jacob R Lang, OD, FAAO
Dr. Lang joined Associated Eye Care in 2006. He received his Doctor of Optometry degree from The New England College of Optometry in Boston, MA. He was a member of Beta Sigma Kappa Optometric Honor Society, and received several awards for excellence in patient care and contact lens expertise. Dr. Lang then completed a cornea and specialty contact lens residency in Boston, MA. Through this additional education, he gained further experience in corneal and ocular disease, therapeutic contact lenses and surgical co-management. Dr. Lang is a diplomat of the American Board of Optometry, a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and an Adjunct Clinical Faculty for the Illinois College of Optometry and Salus University. He is also the residency coordinator for Associated Eye Care’s optometric residency program and is actively involved in ongoing clinical research and lecturing at various local and national eye care conferences.
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Nate Lighthizer, OD, FAAO
Born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, Dr. Nate Lighthizer, O.D., F.A.A.O., is a graduate of Pacific University College of Optometry. Upon graduation, he completed a residency in Family Practice Optometry with an emphasis in Ocular Disease through Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry. Dr. Lighthizer has since joined the faculty at the Oklahoma College of Optometry and serves as the Chief of Specialty Care Clinics and the Chief of Electrodiagnostics Clinic.
In 2014, he founded and now heads the Dry Eye Clinic at the College of Optometry. Also in 2014, he was named the Director of Continuing Education as well as the Assistant Dean for Clinical Care Services at the Oklahoma College of Optometry. He is a founding member, and currently serves as Vice President, of the Intrepid Eye Society which is a group of emerging thought leaders in optometry. He was named a member of PCON 250 – A list of the top 250 optometrists in the country who practice progressively, provide innovative patient care, conduct optometric research or excel in academia and share what they have learned with other optometrists to advance the profession. Dr. Lighthizer lectures nationally on numerous topics, most notably advanced ophthalmic procedures, electrodiagnostics, and ocular disease.
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Don W Lyon, OD, MS, FAAO
Dr. Lyon graduated with his O.D. degree from IU in 1999 and completed a residency in pediatric optometry and binocular vision in 2000. Dr. Lyon has lectured internationally on pediatric optometry, amblyopia, and binocular vision disorders. He is focusing now on International optometry and improving the quality of vision care preschool aged children receive.
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Kelly A Malloy, OD, FAAO, Diplomate (Neuro-Oph)
Dr. Kelly Malloy holds the rank of Professor at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry of Salus University, where she specializes in neuro-ophthalmic disease. She is the Chief of the Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease Specialty Clinical Service at The Eye Institute, and has achieved Diplomate status in this specialty at the American Academy of Optometry. Besides her clinical patient care responsibilities, she also teaches the Head & Neck Anatomy, Neuro-Anatomy, and Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease courses at Salus.
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Kelsey Mileski, OD, FAAO
Dr. Moody Mileski is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Emory Eye Center in Atlanta Georgia. Dr. Mileski received her undergraduate degree in biology at Florida State University in 2011 and studied Optometry at The Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University from 2011-2015. She then completed an advanced two-year residency in neuro-ophthalmic disease at The Eye Institute of Salus University from 2015-2017. Dr. Mileski stayed on as an Instructor at Salus University until 2018 and joined the Emory Eye Center faculty in September 2018. At Emory, in addition to comprehensive and emergency eye care, Dr. Mileski also works in the neuro-ophthalmic disease and strabismus clinics and is a member of the hospital consultation team.
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Donald Mutti, OD, PhD
Dr. Mutti is the E.F. Wildermuth Foundation Professor of Optometry at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. His research career began in the contact lens industry with CooperVision Ophthalmic Products where he evaluated lens design and product performance during in-house clinical trials. His current research interests are in the emmetropization of infants and the development of myopia in children. He was a co-investigator on the NEI-funded Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) study. He was also the principal investigator of the NEI-funded Berkeley Infant Biometry (BIBS) Study, an eight-year investigation of ocular component development and emmetropization in infancy. His current research project is the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) study (an NEI-funded clinical trial evaluating myopia progression with reduced peripheral defocus using multifocal soft contact lenses. He has taught visual optics to optometry students for over 15 years. He received the Borish Award in Support of Research in 1996 and the Glenn A. Fry Award from the American Optometric Foundation in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to research.
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Shalu Pal, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA
Dr. Pal graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry, completed her Contact Lens, Cornea and Disease Residency at Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry followed by her Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry. She is a Fellow in the Scleral Lens Society and received her fellowship in the British Contact Lens Association. Dr. Pal is a member of the advisory board for the Global Council of Myopia Management and an Editorial Advisor for the Review of Myopia Management. Dr. Pal is the immediate past Chair of the American Optometric Association, Contact Lens and Cornea Section, a board member of the Canadian Association of Optometrist, Cornea and Contact Lens Section and the co-founder of the Canadian Contact Lens Academy. She is currently the owner of a group practice in Toronto, specializes in advanced specialty contact lens fitting, dry eye management and treatment, concussion rehabilitation and vision therapy. Dr. Pal is a member of the Dry Eye faculty for Allergan and Alcon's Dry Eye Speakers group. Dr. Pal is a guest lecturer at all Optometry Schools across North American as a founder of the Staple Program. Dr. Pal volunteers her time with the Ontario Association of Ontario, Special Olympics, Launchpad, local community groups and VOSH. Dr. Pal's work in the area of specialty lenses, communication and practice management continues to be published. She also lectures and consults with many industry partners for the betterment of the profession through education.
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Carlo J. Pelino OD, FAAO
Dr. Pelino is a 1994 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. In 1995 he completed a PCO ocular disease residency at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, where he concentrated in retina and neuro-ophthalmic disease. Dr. Pelino is currently a full time Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is director of the optometric retina service at The Eye Institute. He recently completed a one year retinal fellowship emphasizing medical and surgical treatments under the direction of vitreo-retinal surgeons at Crozier-Chester and Riddle Memorial Hospitals in suburban Philadelphia. Dr. Pelino is a fellow in the American Academy of Optometry. He regularly lectures in domestic and international programs.
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Louis Philipson, MD, PhD
Dr. Philipson is an endocrinologist and a leading world authority on diabetes mellitus. His clinical interests include type 1 diabetes, complicated type 2 diabetes, monogenic diabetes and hypoglycemia.
Recognized for unmatched expertise in the treatment of diabetes that is difficult to manage, Dr. Philipson's multidisciplinary team frequently accepts referrals and provides consultations. Under his leadership, Kovler Diabetes Center has been recognized as a one of only seven National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diabetes Research and Training Centers in the U.S.
For more than 25 years, Dr. Philipson has tirelessly explored the biophysical, molecular and genetic aspects of insulin secretion, and the genetics of diabetes. He and his colleagues discovered rare insulin gene mutations that produce beta cell ER stress and, in turn, cause neonatal diabetes.
In addition, Dr. Philipson and his colleagues are among the nation's leading experts on monogenic diabetes, following more than 100 patients diagnosed with neonatal diabetes and many others with maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) type diabetes. He also serves as co-director of the Human Islet Transplantation project at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Philipson has served as principal investigator on numerous research projects. His work is widely published in biomedical journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, Nature, Diabetes, American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Dr. Philipson serves as President, Medicine and Science for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for 2019. As president of the Chicago/Northern Illinois board of the American Diabetes Association and a member of its National Board, he has been invited to speak and present at scientific research conferences and symposia worldwide. Dr. Philipson was named James C. Tyree Professor for Diabetes Research and Care. In addition, Dr. Philipson is the recipient of numerous awards including ADA Research Awards and the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) Outstanding Scientist Award. He was also named the 2011 recipient of the Samuel Eichold II Memorial Award for Contributions in Diabetes by the American College of Physicians.
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Jack Phu, BOptom (Hons.), BSc, MPH, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Phu is a clinician-scientist with academic and clinical positions at the Centre for Eye Health and School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales. His clinical, research, and teaching duties are focussed almost exclusively on glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmic disease.
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Joseph Pizzimenti, OD, FAAO
Dr. Pizzimenti is an internationally-recognized speaker and author, and a Fellow of both the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and the Optometric Retina Society (ORS). He served as ORS President from 2012-2014. Dr. Pizzimenti has completed funded clinical research in the areas of diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, vitreomacular adhesion, and low vision. His scientific articles and have appeared in a host peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Pizzimenti co-authored a chapter on Diabetic Retinopathy in the textbook entitled Diabetes in Black America. Dr. Pizzimenti enjoys traveling and spending quality time with his wife, Dr. Claire Pizzimenti, and their three children.
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Mohammad Rafieetary, OD, FAAO
Dr. Rafieetary is a consultative optometric physician who has been is in practice at the Charles Retina Institute (CRI) since 1996. Dr. Rafieetary is a graduate of Boston University and has received his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, He has completed a residency in Primary care Optometry and Ocular Disease at the Southern College of Optometry (SCO) and the Memphis Health Center, Upon complication of his residency in 1989. Dr. Rafieetary joined SCO's faculty and served as an Associate Professor the Chief of Advanced Ocular Disease Service and at the Southern College of Optometry until he joined CRI. Dr. Rafieetary has received several awards including the SCO Faculty of the Year, American Diabetic Association's National Achievement of Distinction Award, and the Tennessee Associations of Optometric Physician's Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Rafieetary has served on the board of several professional organizations, He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Optometric Retina Society, He is board certified by the American Board Optometry as well as the American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry. Dr. Rafieetary is published in numerous professional publications and lectures extensively on the subject of diseases of the eye with emphasis on conditions of the retinal and vitreous.
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Sherrol A. Reynolds OD, FAAO
Dr. Reynolds received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida before she attended NSU College of Optometry, where she earned her Doctor of Optometry degree in 1996. She pursued a residency in primary care and later became an adjunct faculty member at the University.
She served as an Associate Professor at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry for over eighteen-years, where she taught the Clinical Medicine and Physical Diagnosis courses; and was a clinical attending in the diabetes and macular clinic. She is currently an adjunct professor and works in a private OD/MD practice. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Retinal Society. She has been involved in numerous research and publications on ocular disease.
Dr. Reynolds serves as the current President of the National Optometric Association (NOA) and was awarded the National Optometric Association (NOA) Optometrist of the Year in 2013. She served as chair of the Florida Optometric Association Healthy Eye Healthy People committee and the NOA’s liaison to the National Eye Institute (NEI) National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP). She serves a volunteer member of the Prevent Blindness Scientific Advisory Committee and a monthly columnist for the Optometric Management Journal Retina column for the past three years.
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Kathryn Richdale, OD, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Richdale joined the University of Houston College Of Optometry in 2017 as an Associate Professor. She received her OD, PhD, and Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship from The Ohio State University. She teaches, practices and conducts research primarily in the areas of refractive error and cornea and contact lenses.
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Mark Rosenfield, MCOptom, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Rosenfield is a professor at the State University of New York (SUNY), State College of Optometry. He was awarded a first class honours degree in Optometry from Aston University, U.K. and following a pre-registration year at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, obtained registration as an optometrist in the United Kingdom. He received a Ph.D. in Vision Science from Aston University, and subsequently obtained an appointment at SUNY/State College of Optometry, where he currently teaches the first year Optometric Theory and second year Integrated Optics courses. Professor Rosenfield conducts research into binocular vision, digital eye strain and the measurement and etiology of refractive error, and currently has over 110 peer-reviewed publications in these areas. In addition, he is the principal author of three textbooks: (i) Myopia and Nearwork, (ii) Optometry: Science, Techniques and Clinical Management and (iii) Clinical Cases in Eye Care. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 1990, and received Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in both teaching (1995) and scholarship and creative activities (2015) from the State University of New York. In 1996 he was awarded the first ever research diplomate in binocular vision from the American Academy of Optometry. In 2005 he received the Michael G. Harris Family Award for Excellence in Optometric Education from the American Optometric Foundation. In 2020, he was appointed the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics.
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Joseph P Shovlin, OD, FAAO
Dr. Shovlin is a senior optometrist at Northeastern Eye Institute in Scranton, PA. He is an alumnus (1980) of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry where he serves as adjunct faculty. He is a distinguished practitioner of the National Academy of Practice, diplomate and past chair of the Section On Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies of the American Academy of Optometry and past chair of the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association.
A few of his consulting arrangements include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Workgroup on Contact Lenses and the scientific advisory committee of the Pennsylvania Lion’s Eye Research Foundation. He has served on the Ophthalmic Devices’ Advisory Panel of FDA (voting member and consultant) and the National Advisory Eye Council of NIH.
He is associate clinical editor of Review of Optometry and clinical editor of Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses, section editor of Optometric Physician On-Line, journal board member of Optometry Times, Primary Care Optometry News and has served as a contributing editor for Optometry, International Contact Lens Clinic, Contemporary Optometry, Optometric Management and consulting editor of Contact Lens Spectrum.
Within the Academy, he is a member of the Finance Committee and is the Annual Meeting chair and has served on the board of directors of the American Optometric Foundation. He has received several honors and awards including the American Optometric Association’s CLCS Achievement Award (2008), the Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year recipient for PCO at Salus University (2011) and the Legend Award of the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the AOA (2012).
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Brad M. Sutton, OD, FAAO
Dr. Sutton received both his undergraduate and Optometry degrees from Indiana University, where he is currently a Clinical Professor. He is heavily involved in patient care, clinical teaching, and lecturing in the ocular disease courses. He is currently the Chief of Service at the Indianapolis Eye Care Center. Dr. Sutton’s main areas of clinical interest include ocular disease and surgical management and he has given over 400 continuing education lectures at the local, state, national, and international level. Dr. Sutton was named the Young Optometrist of the Year for the state of Tennessee in 1997-1998 and received the same award (President’s Citation) for the state of Indiana in 2001. He is also a past President of the Optometric Retina Society.
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Matthew T. Vaughn, OD, FAAO
Dr. Vaughn is an assistant clinical professor at SUNY College of Optometry and the University Eye Center, where he supervises students and residents in the Primary Care Pediatrics, Children with Special Needs, Infant Vision Care, and Pediatric Ocular Disease clinics. Dr. Vaughn also serves as the Instructor of Record for the Pediatric Optometry and Vision Development third year course and laboratory, co-IOR of the Advanced Topics in Pediatric Ocular Disease elective, and is the externship supervisor for the in-house Pediatric Externship. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from The College of New Jersey in Ewing, New Jersey, and his Doctor of Optometry degree from SUNY College of Optometry. He completed a residency in Pediatric and Infant Vision Optometry at SUNY Optometry, where he received advanced training in pediatrics, children with special needs, infant vision care, learning-related vision problems, and vision therapy. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. His hobbies include performing with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.
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Jeffrey J. Walline, OD PhD FAAO
Dr. Walline is the associate dean for Research at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Optometry and American Optometric Foundation since 2012, and he is the Study Chair of the BifocaI Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study, a National Eye Institute-funded randomized clinical trial to determine whether soft multifocal contact lenses can slow the progression of myopia in children.
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Henrietta Wang, BOptom (Hons.), BSc
Henrietta is a research and clinical staff optometrist at the Centre for Eye Health. She received numerous clinical and academic awards during the course of her optometry degree at the University of New South Wales, including a research scholarship for her work in the Retinal Networks Laboratory. Her clinical interests in the diagnosis of ocular pathology and advanced imaging modalities. Her research interests are in the areas of retinal disease and optimizing psychophysical procedures.
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Amy L Waters, OD, FAAO
I graduated from Southern College of Optometry in 2007. I completed a pediatric optometry residency in 2008 at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. I also completed my fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry in 2008. I have been on staff at Children's Mercy Hospital since 2008.
I am actively involved in Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group. Serving as the principle investigator for the Children's Mercy Hospital site until 2007 and the principle investigator for multiple PEDIG studies at Children's Mercy. I am the preceptor for Southern College of Optometry students at Children's Mercy
I enjoy lecturing about pediatric optometry, teaching optometry students, and treating pediatric patients.
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Mark E. Wilkinson, OD, FAAO
Dr. Wilkinson completed his Doctor of Optometry degree in 1980 from Illinois College of Optometry . Dr. Wilkinson is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He is also a member of the University of Iowa's Institute for Vision Research and he is on the staff of the University of Iowa's National Advanced Driving Simulator. Dr. Wilkinson is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. Dr. Wilkinson is a member of the Planning Committee of the National Eye Institute's National Eye Health Education Program where he serves as the chair of the Low Vision Committee. Additionally, Dr. Wilkinson is a past chair of the Executive Committee of the Vision Rehabilitation Section of the American Optometric Association.
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James Weiland, PhD
Dr. Weiland received his BS from the University of Michigan in 1988. After 4 years in industry with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines, he returned to Michigan for graduate school, earning degrees in Biomedical Engineering (MS, 1993; PhD, 1997) and Electrical Engineering (MS, 1995). He joined the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins University in 1997 as a postdoctoral fellow and, in 1999, was appointed an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Weiland was appointed assistant professor at the USC Eye Institute-University of Southern California in 2001.
Currently, Dr. Weiland is a professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California. He is deputy director of the Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems Engineering Research Center. Dr. Weiland’s research interests include retinal prostheses, neural prostheses, electrode technology, visual evoked responses, and implantable electrical systems. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE EMBS, the Biomedical Engineering Society, Sigma Xi, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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Phillip Yuhas, OD, PhD, FAAO
Dr. Yuhas is an assistant professor at the Ohio State University College of Optometry in Columbus, Ohio. Here, he conducts research on the retina. He also teaches in the College's optometry and graduate curricula. On the weekends he manages his own patients at Northwest EyeCare Professionals in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
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Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD, FAAO
An internationally recognized leader in optometric research and education, Dr. Zadnik became The Ohio State University College of Optometry’s dean in June 2014. She received her OD and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. Professional highlights include: American Academy of Optometry President (2011-12): American Optometric Foundation Glenn A. Fry Award Recipient (1995); National Advisory Eye Council of the National Eye Institute (NEI)/National Institutes of Health (2000-04); Study Chair for the NEI-funded Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) Study; and Chair of the first-ever NEI-funded multicenter study based in optometry, the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK) Study (1994-2007). At Ohio State, she has chaired the Biomedical Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB) for more than 10 years, and received the University’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2010.
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Richard Zimbalist, OD, FAAO
Dr. Richard Zimbalist received his optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed a residency in ocular disease at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. He is on staff at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Zimbalist has authored multiple journal articles and posters for national meetings. He also serves as a reviewer for COPE, a peer-reviewer for a major ophthalmic journal, and is actively involved with teleretinal imaging and virtual medicine. Dr. Zimbalist is also owner of Ignite Medical which specializes in website development, search engine optimization, social media, and digital marketing for eye care professionals.
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