ACADEMY NEWS
The Academy Announces the 2006 Awardees
Each year, the American Academy of Optometry Announces its prestigious awards based on the recommendations of the Awards Committee. Awards committee chair, Donald Korb, notes The Awards of the Academy reflect the 'face' of the Academy and in doing so reflect its mission and vision as well as the values that Academy Fellows hold in highest regard. Subsequently, the OVS Editor has grouped the awards to reflect these different aspects of the awards.
Academy Lecture Awards
The Charles F. Prentice Medal and Lecture
Recipient: Ronald S. Harwerth, OD, PhD, FAAO
The Charles F. Prentice Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding scientist who has contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in the visual sciences.
Glenn A. Fry Award and Lecture
Recipient: Donald O. Mutti, OD, PhD, FAAO
The award, sponsored by the American Optometric Foundation, recognizes a distinguished scientist or clinician for his or her current research contributions.
Research and Discovery Awards
William Feinbloom Award
Recipient: George C. Woo, OD, PhD, FAAO
The William Feinbloom Award is presented to an individual who, through discovery and innovation, has made a distinguished and significant contribution to the advancement of clinical practice and thus to the visual enhancement of the public.
Irvin M. and Beatrice Borish Award
Recipient: Erica L. Fletcher, MScOptom, PhD
The Borish Award recognizes an outstanding young researcher who has shown exceptional promise to conduct independent optometric research directly related to etiology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, or management of clinical eye disorders.
Garland W. Clay Award
Recipients: Hui Min Wu, MD, PhD; Benjamin Seet, FRCS (Edin.), MPH; Eric Yap, MBBS, PhD; Seang-Mei Saw, MPH, PhD; Tock-Han Lim, MMed, FRCS (Edin.); and Kee-Seng Chia, MMed, MD
Does education explain ethnic differences in myopia prevalence? A population-based study of young adult males in Singapore. Optometry and Vision Science 2001;78:234-9.
The Garland W. Clay Award is presented to the author or authors of the manuscript published in Optometry and Vision Science that has been most widely cited in the world in the preceding 5 years.
International Contribution Award
American Academy of Optometry-Essilor Award for Outstanding International Contributions to Optometry
Recipient: World Council of Optometry
This award recognizes an individual, individuals, or organizations for extraordinary contributions to international optometry or international eye care.
Clinical, Educational Excellence, and Professional Advancement Awards
Carel C. Koch Memorial Medal
Recipient: Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP
The Carel C. Koch Memorial Medal is awarded to a person who has made outstanding contributions to the enhancement and development of relationships between optometry and other professions.
The Michael G. Harris Family Award for Excellence in Optometric Education
Recipient: Lyndon W. J. Jones, PhD, FCOptom, FAAO, FIACLE
This award is presented by the American Optometric Foundation (AOF) to an optometric educator who has demonstrated ongoing and consistent excellence in the education of optometry students and/or the advancement of optometric education.
Eminent Service Award
Recipients: N. Rex Ghormley, OD, FAAO; Robert D. Newcomb, OD, MPH, FAAO; and Louis Warshaw, OD, MPH, FAAO
The Eminent Service Award honors those persons who have rendered unusual service to the Academy.
Academy Section Awards
Contact Lens Section
Schapero Memorial Award
Recipient: Jan P. G. Bergmanson, OD, PhD, FCOptom, FAAO
The Schapero Award is given to a clinician, researcher, or scholar who has made a significant contribution to the cornea and contact lens field by virtue of his or her publications, lectures, or research efforts.
Founders' Award
Recipients: Neal J. Bailey, OD, PhD, FAAO; and Irvin M. Borish, OD, LLD, FAAO
This award is presented to an individual, group, or company who has made an outstanding contribution to the clinical aspect of the art or science of contact lens fitting.
Student Awards
Neumueller Award
Recipients: Nina Tran, OD; and Sara Chiu, OD, University of California, Berkeley
The Neumueller Award is given to a student (or students) in a school or college of optometry for an outstanding paper on geometric optics, physical optics, ophthalmic optics, or optics of the eye.
American Optometric Foundation Announces 2006 to 2007 Ezell Fellowship Awards
The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) is the charitable arm of the American Academy of Optometry with a mission to develop and provide financial support for optometric research and education in vision and eye health. In 2005, with the support donors, the AOF successfully administered $186,000 in financial assistance to 55 students and researchers through numerous programs that further our mission. Key among those programs is the prestigious William C. Ezell Fellowships awarded on the basis of excellence in scholarship, research, and teaching. This years Ezell Fellows are:
Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)-Ezell Fellow
Patricia Rose, OD, MS; University of Toronto, Canada
American Academy of Optometry-Ezell Fellow
Charlotte Joslin, OD, FAAO; University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois
American Optometric Foundation-President's Circle Ezell Fellow
David A. Berntsen, OD, MS, FAAO, College of Optometry, The Ohio State University, Ohio
Alcon-Ezell Fellow
Danielle M. Robertson, OD; College of Optometry, University of Houston, Texas
Bausch & Lomb-Ezell Fellow
Jason Marsack, MS; College of Optometry, University of Houston, Texas
Bausch & Lomb-Ezell Fellow
Subha Venkataraman, BSOptom; University of Waterloo School of Optometry, Canada
CIBA Vision-Ezell Fellow
Ling Chi Huang, OD; College of Optometry, University of Houston, Texas
George Mertz-Ezell Fellow
Jennifer Choo, OD; University of New South Wales, Australia
Essilor-Ezell Fellow
Heather Johns, OD; College of Optometry, University of Houston, Texas
VISTAKON-Ezell Fellow
Johannes Burge, BA; University of California-Berkeley, California
VISTAKON-Ezell Fellow
Jose Capo-Aponte, OD, FAAO; State University of New York, State College of Optometry, NY
The Ezell Fellowship Program, named after the founding President of the AOF, William C. Ezell, OD, was established to provide opportunities to talented postgraduate students who want to pursue careers in optometric research and education. To date, over 200 William C. Ezell Fellowships have been awarded. The 2006 to 2007 Ezell Fellows will be honored at the AOF's Annual Research Luncheon on December 10, 2006, during the American Academy of Optometry's Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
American Optometric Foundation Announces Silent Auction 2006
Each year at the annual meeting of the Academy of Optometry, the American Optometric Foundation's (AOF) silent auction raises funds to support education and research advances. Donations provide attendees with an exciting way to contribute to AOF, which in return helps fund the future of optometry.
This year, bidding continues through the AOF Annual Research Luncheon on December 10, 2006, in Denver, where the winning bids will also be announced. Donated silent auction items must be received at AOF no later than November 20, 2006. For additional information, please contact Kristal Watkins (kristalw@aaoptom.org).
Optometry and Vision Science February Guest Editor Is on the Move
In February 2006, OVS invited Guest Editor Jorge Cuadros, OD, PhD, to share his vision of how remote eye care might evolve for optometry. Recently, a news item highlighted his own very active participation in following that vision. Here is an abbreviated news release from the University of California on August 14, 2006.
Telemedicine Eye Care Benefits State's Underserved Residents - by Liese Greensfelder, UCB Media Relations, August 14, 2006
Armed with new telemedicine software, optometrists at the University of California, Berkeley, are working with doctors at community clinics throughout California's Central Valley to provide eye exams for thousands of low income diabetic patients.
Latinos-who make up 40 percent of the population in the Central Valley-are expected to be the principal beneficiaries of this pilot project. With a rate of diabetes that is nearly three times as high as that of the general population of the United States, this group is at particularly high risk for diabetic retinopathy, a sight-threatening side effect of the disease, said Jorge Cuadros, the project's director.
Since September 2005, when the project was launched, 13 clinics have received retinal cameras and an open-source image management program developed at UC Berkeley's School of Optometry for storing and transmitting patient information and diagnostic images. The equipment allows doctors to take high-resolution photos of patients' retinas and send them electronically to optometrists at UC Berkeley for interpretation and diagnosis.
We're finding sight-threatening retinopathy in about 10 percent of the patients, said Cuadros, a clinical professor of optometry at the school and the driving force behind the project. Without this new system, most of these patients would have fallen through the cracks. They would have ended up at an eye care provider's office once they lost vision in an eye, instead of being diagnosed early on, when preventive measures can still help.
Diabetic retinopathy is the main cause of permanent blindness in working-age adults, Cuadros said. Annual eye exams are a crucial component of care for diabetes patients, yet less than half the people who should get exams do, he said. Low income Latinos in the Central Valley are even less likely to obtain the required care. There are so many barriers, Cuadros said, like economics, language or no transportation to a specialist's office that may be in another town miles away.
Most low income residents of the Central Valley go to community clinics for their general health care, but few clinics have the equipment or expertise to screen for vision problems. In 2003, Cuadros decided to address this problem as the research arm of his work toward a Ph.D. in medical informatics.
The idea was to be able to set up a program where sight-threatening retinopathy could be detected in the clinic at the same time that patients were going for their medical visit, he said. I knew that we had the technology to address this via telemedicine, but the challenge was to do it in a way that was economically sustainable.
At the heart of Cuadros's solution are three components: EyePACS, a license-free, Web-based system he developed to send, store and display eye-related patient information, images and diagnostic data; his colleagues at UC Berkeley's School of Optometry, who volunteered to read the retinal images sent to them from the clinics; and new legislation, California Assembly Bill 354, that went into effect July 1. The bill permits Medi-Cal reimbursement for doctors who review dermatology or ophthalmology records that have been sent and stored electronically.
With a $630,000 grant from the California Endowment through the California Telemedicine and eHealth Center and the California Health Care Foundation, Cuadros has equipped the 13 rural clinics in the project with EyePACS and retinal cameras and has provided training in their use to doctors and other clinic staff.
In September 2005, the Golden Valley Health Center, in the city of Merced, was the first clinic to start the project. In June 2006, Family Practice Associates, a clinic in Oroville sponsored by the Oroville Hospital, became the thirteenth. About 40 patients a week are being screened now at all the clinics, but once staff become comfortable with their new equipment and procedures, Cuadros said, he expects that each clinic will screen about 1,000 patients per year.
Until now, optometrists at UC Berkeley have been reading free of charge the detailed retinal images that the clinics are sending to them. But with the enactment of AB 354, the clinics will now be paid by Medi-Cal for enough cases to sustain the programs. Until the bill went into effect, Medi-Cal would reimburse only for dermatology and ophthalmology services rendered via telemedicine when doctors and patients met face to face through Web cameras. Now, using Cuadros's EyePAC data storage system, doctors can examine records without the patient being present in real time, and be reimbursed for the service. This system will greatly expand the use of telemedicine in California for vision care, Cuadros said.
The retinal cameras are also impacting health care in unexpected ways, Cuadros said. When clinic doctors look at the blood vessels in the retinal images, they get really excited because they are looking directly at the microvascular system of the human body, he said. This is something a family practice doctor usually doesn't get to see. If the arteries in the retina are diseased, the rest of the vascular system probably is, too, he added.
The images are making doctors and their patients pay attention. When a 34-year-old woman was shown the lesions in her retinal vessels-the first signs of retinopathy-she finally started taking steps to control her diabetes, including taking the insulin she had earlier resisted, Cuadros said.
The EyePACS system that Cuadros developed is what is known as a picture archiving and communication system, or PACS. Working with Wyatt Tellis, a staff research scientist in the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology, Cuadros based his system on simple components for transmitting secure information and tailored it for retinal imaging. To spare clinics from paying thousands of dollars in licensing fees, the team built EyePACS on an open-source platform, incorporating various components, such as FreeBSD and PostgreSQL, that UC Berkeley's computer science department had helped to develop over the years.
The server that hosts the EyePACS system is big enough to accommodate all of the 600 or so community clinics in California, Cuadros said.
Cuadros is now working on a variety of projects that are expanding the scope of the telemedicine system. He's creating the software and training program that will allow it to be used to examine glaucoma and other diseases, and he's in the process of developing affordable retinal cameras, hoping to lower their price from $20,000 to $5,000.
He's also establishing mobile screening clinics, taking retinal cameras to community centers and other places where needy patients can be examined on the spot. Last month, he spent an afternoon at Glide Health Services in San Francisco's Tenderloin District and screened 15 diabetes patients there, including Glide Memorial Church's long-time pastor, the Rev. Cecil Williams. Gathered around a computer image of the Rev. Cecil William's retina are, from left, UC Berkeley optometry student Andrea Buitrago, Williams, Glide Health Services medical director Dianne Budd, and UC Berkeley optometry professor Jorge Cuadros. Williams, leader of Glide Memorial Church, was one of 15 patients Cuadros screened for diabetic retinopathy at Glide Health Services in San Francisco in July.
And Cuadros has extended the reach of the project far beyond California's borders. Last year, he partnered with Vision For All, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides eye care to people in need. He traveled with George Bresnick, medical director, and Geri Hendrickson, executive director, to Guanajuato, Mexico, where they worked with Mexican doctors to develop a diabetic retinopathy detection program. They have embarked on an ambitious program to screen every diabetic patient in the region starting in July with the 1,200 patients in the town of San Felipe. Cuadros and Bresnick have already reviewed the first 300 retinal images sent to them by EyePACS from the Mexican health team and will work with the project through its duration.
So often new technology broadens the gap between rich and poor, Cuadros said. So it's particularly satisfying in this case to be able to minimize health disparities using technology and at the same time to evolve new ways to deliver health care.
ORGANIZATION & INSTITUTION NEWS
$14.6 Million NIH Grant to UI Will Build on Macular Degeneration Findings
A 5-year, $14.6 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health will fund an international, multidisciplinary effort led by the University of Iowa (UI) to leverage two recent genetic discoveries into possible treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
In the past year, the UI, Columbia University Medical Center, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), along with several other institutions, determined that two genes-complement factor H and factor B-account for nearly three of four cases of AMD. Variations in these two genes somehow alter the function of a key pathway in the immune system, which researchers suspect leads to AMD. The factor H gene also is linked to similar eye problems associated with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type II (MPGN II), a rare kidney disease.
Now, the scientists will begin a series of investigations to learn more about the genes' role in the immune system with the goal of developing diagnostic tools and treatments. The team will explore how the gene variations affect function of the factor H protein and explore the idea that replacing, augmenting, or removing the malfunctioning protein can delay or even prevent the eye disease caused by AMD and MPGN II.
The investigation includes efforts to determine whether other genes are associated with AMD and whether other inflammation-based diseases such as Alzheimer disease are caused by dysfunction of the same, or a related, pathway. Additional aims involve studying the biology of the eye's complement system to determine whether proteins and markers, other than a vision test, can reveal vision decline resulting from AMD. Other efforts funded by the grant would involve drug design and development and clinical trials.
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NAEVR Commends Senate Appropriators for the FY2007 LHHS Spending Bill's Increases for the NIH and NEI
In July, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) commended the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee and Senate Appropriations Committee for approving a fiscal year (FY) 2007 spending bill that would increase National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Eye Institute (NEI) funding. The Senate bill funds the NIH at $28.5 billion, which is $200 million over the $28.3 billion funding level in the President's budget and the House LHHS bill. The Senate bill funds NEI at $666.9 million, which is $5.4 million over that in the President's budget and the House LHHS bill and $600,000 over the FY 2006 funding level. Senate and House floor action on respective FY 2007 LHHS funding bills is not expected until later this year.
The vision research community and the patients it serves especially commend the leadership of Subcommittee Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Ranking Member Tom Harkin (D-IA), who worked on a bipartisan basis to ensure that the Senate bill would not cut FY2007 NEI funding, as proposed in the President's budget and the House LHHS funding bill, said NAEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky.
Jorkasky added that the Subcommittee was especially sensitive to the impact of budget cuts on NEI's research into age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the United States. In response to NAEVR's May 19 Subcommittee testimony about missed opportunities in AMD research due to the President's budget proposal, the Senate bill increases NEI funding and directs the Institute to move expeditiously in the development of treatments for those suffering with this condition, said Jorkasky. In 2005, NEI-funded researchers discovered variants of a gene strongly associated with the risk of developing AMD, which has been heralded by NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni as a breakthrough.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Alcon and Eli Lilly to Collaborate on Diabetic Retinopathy Drug
Eli Lilly and Company and Alcon Inc. have signed a long-term agreement to copromote ruboxistaurin mesylate (proposed brand name Arxxant) in the United States and Puerto Rico. Arxxant is an oral drug for the treatment of moderate to severe diabetic retinopathy and is currently under U.S. Food and Drug Administration review. Under the terms of the agreement, Alcon will have primary responsibility for promotion to eye specialists, including retinal specialists and general ophthalmologists. Eli Lilly will have primary responsibility for promotion to endocrinologists and primary care physicians.
VSP Contributes to ICO
VSP provided the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) with a $200,000 grant to expand their Pediatric Outreach Program. In appreciation, ICO renamed the initiative the VSP Pediatric Outreach Program and dedicated a lecture hall in VSP's honor.
The grant will allow ICO to significantly increase their comprehensive eye care for children from birth to 5 years of age. The goal is to serve 1000 children per year, approximately one-third of who are uninsured.
Once per week, ICO faculty and optometry students visit community-based childcare centers across Chicago to perform comprehensive eye examinations on children. If needed, eyeglasses are prescribed and delivered to the children. Follow-up care is also provided to children who require additional treatment.
Beyond the direct care provided to children in need, the VSP Pediatric Outreach Program also advances optometry students' education on normal vision development and the importance of care for at-risk children.
VSP Sponsors Get Focused Day With the Chicago Cubs
During the afternoon of July 19, 2006, VSP sponsored Get Focused Day with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Cubs players and VSP doctors taught 50 children from the Union League Boys & Girls Club about the importance of healthy vision and regular eye examinations. Doctors led the children through baseball-related exercises designed to show them the crucial role eyesight plays in professional baseball. Cubs Manager, Dusty Baker, spoke to the children about how good vision played a vital role in his success as a major league baseball player and manager.