Student Achievement

by Nathan Anderson

Cyril Nyankerh, OD, Vision Science Graduate Program (VSGP) student, was awarded the Members-in-Training (MIT) Outstanding Poster Award for the Visual Neuroscience section at ARVO 2023, the premiere gathering for eye and vision scientists at all career stages.

by Nathan Anderson

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi has awarded Keyur Savla, Vision Science Program doctoral student at the UAB School of Optometry, a Dissertation Fellowship of $10,000. Not since 2016 has a UAB student received this honor.

by Satina Richardson

Heidi Hernandez has earned a highly competitive residency at The Eye Institute of Salus University (TEI). The two-year neuro-ophthalmic disease residency accepts only one resident annually and is the only one of its kind in the nation. It is the first time a UAB optometry student has been chosen for this program.

by Nathan Anderson

Robert Morgan, class of 2024 at the UAB School of Optometry (UABSO), has been elected treasurer of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) board of directors.

Clinical learning during optometry school is critical. Over four years, students spend three years developing clinical skills as part of their curriculum. This year, however, a group of students decided to pursue an additional opportunity and now see patients once per month at Equal Access Birmingham (EAB).

Hannah Morrison has been awarded the $10,000 Optometry Cares 2023 Bernard Maitenaz Scholarship. To compete for the scholarship, the UAB School of Optometry student created a social media toolkit about the importance of comprehensive eye exams for children beginning at six months of age.

Brittany Martin, class of 2023, was one of 10 optometry students from across the country invited to participate in the VSP Vision™ Premier Program annual meeting, SHiFT22 held in Scottsdale, AZ, in October.

Two UAB School of Optometry students were recognized at the 2022 National Optometric Association (NOA) National Convention.

by Satina Richardson

Samantha Chapman, a rising second year optometry student, reached the final round of the 2022 AOSA Optometry Student Bowl XXXI.

First year students Kimberly Martocci and Samantha Chapman spent their spring break accompanying a group of dental students to provide dental and eye care to people living in the Dominican Republic.

The UAB School of Optometry’s (UABSO) chapter of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) has won the 2022 President’s Diversity Champion award given by UAB's Office of the President and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Established in 2006, the annual award recognizes employees, students and organizations that have helped create a more culturally diverse, inclusive university community through their achievements.

by Satina Richardson

Will Mann, a first year optometry student at UAB, plans to be an advocate for his profession when he becomes a practicing optometrist. He took his first step towards this goal by becoming an American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) trustee-elect.

by Caleb Jones

Demetric Jones and Smit Patel, Class of 2025, have been elected as representatives for the Diversify Optometry Program (DOP). Jones will represent the program for the UAB School of Optometry's chapter of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA), and Patel will represent the program for the School's chapter of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA).

Adam Sauls, class of 2023, has been elected to serve as treasurer on the 2022-2023 AOSA Executive Council. The Wendell, NC, native previously served as the first year representative for the UAB chapter, then trustee-elect for the AOSA Board of Trustees, then as a trustee.

by Caleb Jones

UAB School of Optometry student Emily Platt, class of 2024, won the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) Logo Contest. The former art student’s design is now the official logo for the organization.

by Caleb Jones

Seth D. Fortmann, a dual degree MD/PhD student enrolled in the Vision Science Graduate Program (VSGP), has been awarded an F30 research grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Eye Institute (NIH/NEI). The total grant amount is $208,840 and marks the first time in UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) history that a VSGP student has been awarded an F30 grant.

By Caleb Jones

The UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) recently kicked off its new Faculty-Student Mentoring and Social Program (FSMS), organized by assistant professor of optometry Andrew Pucker, OD, PhD, FAAO, FSLS. The program is intended to foster student relationships with faculty members and students from other optometry classes.

by Caleb Jones

This year at the 2021 National Optometric Association (NOA) National Convention, two students from the UAB School of Optometry were elected leaders of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) and one student was awarded a scholarship.

by Caleb Jones

UAB School of Optometry alumnus Walter Jackson, OD, has been named National Optometric Association Student of the Year. The Class of 2021 graduate--who also currently serves as the national president of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA)--has also received the Dr. Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award. The honor recognizes outstanding optometry students and members of NOSA. All award recipients chosen embody the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to diversity of Poston, a founding member of Vision Service Plan (VSP).

Demetric Jones took a nontraditional path to optometry school. After earning his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University, he established a career at Unilever-Covington in Memphis, Tenn., to reduce the financial hardship of his single-parent home. Improved circumstances signaled that he could finally pursue his goal of becoming an eye doctor.

With encouragement from his wife, he applied to multiple optometry schools, interviewed at three schools, and became an officer in the newly formed Black Eyecare Perspective Pre-Optometry Club to begin building a professional network in the field. Jones will attend the UAB School of Optometry’s OD/MBA dual degree program as a member of the 2025 class. Here is Jones' story in his own words.

Congratulations to Shervonne Poleon, who has been named the recipient of the 2021 Prevent Blindness Rising Visionary Award.

by Satina Richardson

Mai Nguyen, Vision Science Graduate Program student, is the first UAB School of Optometry student to receive an F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award. This National Institutes of Health grant is for five years, totaling $189,180.

by Satina Richardson

The COVID-19 pandemic caused rapid change beginning in March when all classes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the UAB School of Optometry were moved online and clinical education was suspended. UAB Eye Care had to close, as did eye care clinics across the nation. These closures left fourth year students wondering if and when externships would take place.

By Brianna Hoge and Satina Richardson

Jessica Jasien, Ph.D., a summer graduate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, is setting her sights high after graduation.

By Satina Richardson

Two students from the UAB School of Optometry are now national leaders of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA). Walter Jackson has been elected President, while Dana Shannon will serve as Vice President. Both are fourth year students.

Kelli Cannon, Vision Science Graduate Program student, is one of six UAB graduate students to be awarded Graduate Research Scholars Program awards for the upcoming fall semester, through Alabama Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) has awarded Kwaku Osei, OD, Vision Science Graduate Program student, the 2020 Mike Daley/Essilor Ezell Fellowship.

Getting through professional school is challenging. Some students, like Kate Daluyin, 2020 class president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, would compare it to running a marathon. For the School of Optometry’s class of 2020, this rang true — especially in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more on UAB News

Elora Robbani, a fourth year student at the UAB School of Optometry, has been selected for an Essilor internship this summer for which only one fourth year student is selected annually.

The UAB School of Optometry offers advanced clinical education in specialty areas of optometry through three in-house and four affiliated residency programs. Currently, seven residency programs offer a total of 12 positions. Two of the available positions are in the specialty area of Pediatric Optometry. One is an in-house position at UAB, while the other is at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, TN.

A prospective applicant asked Sarah Galt, OD, FAAO, about her experience at UAB as a pediatric resident. The following is her response. If you’re debating the benefits of a pediatric residency, Galt’s comments should be of great benefit.

By AJ Stephens

This year at the 2019 National Optometric Association (NOA) National Convention, five UAB School of Optometry students and alumni were awarded scholarships, honored and elected to leadership positions for the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA).

By AJ Stephens

UAB School of Optometry Vision Science Graduate program student Jessica V. Jasien, MEn has been named an Ezell Fellow by the American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF).

By Savannah Koplon

When Taylor Phillips graduates from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry on May 10, she will be the school’s first dual-degree Doctor of Optometry/Master of Business Administration graduate, in a partnership with UAB’s Collat School of Business.

By AJ Stephens

On April 15, 2019, fourth-year optometry student Shannon Kirchmer accomplished her goal of running in the world’s oldest annual marathon, the Boston Marathon.

By AJ Stephens

Sydney Madrigal a 3rd year student here at UABSO was invited to the Transitions Academy as a Transitions Lens Ambassador. The Transitions Academy is one of the most recognized and unique educational events in the optical industry where attendees participate in professional development and product technology workshops, hear from experts on marketing and industry trends, and learn from their peers at panel discussions.

Following her time at the Academy we caught up with her for a Q&A concerning her time there.

By AJ Stephens

Savannah Coker, a third year UAB School of Optometry Student, has been elected national secretary of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) and was also named Trustee of the Year. The award is given to one member of the board who has gone above and beyond. This is the second year in a row that a UAB Trustee has won this distinction, and the third straight year that UABSO has been represented on the AOSA Executive Council.

Kwaku Osei, OD, Vision Science program doctoral student, has been accepted into the 2019 CCTS Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Training Program. The CTS Training Program, part of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), places UAB in an elite group of academic institutions that conducts broad-based clinical and translational research and provides educational programs for individuals starting careers in this type of research.

At UAB, more than 7,100 graduate students are exploring the frontiers of human knowledge, following lines of inquiry that will lead to their dissertations or master’s theses. Each has a story to tell.

Read the full story

Jessica Jasien, doctoral candidate in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Vision Science Graduate Program, has been invited by the American Academy of Optometry to present what is being called one of the 10 most newsworthy abstracts of 2018. Jasien, a native of Rumson, NJ, will present her findings Nov. 7 in San Antonio, Texas, at the AAO’s annual meeting.

UAB School of Optometry Vision Science Graduate program students Jessica V. Jasien, MEn and Priya M. Pitale, MS, have been named Ezell Fellows by the American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF). Out of 42 outstanding applicants, only 13 exceptional individuals were selected for this prestigious award.

Eleven UABSO students have been awarded travel grants to attend November’s American Academy of Optometry (AAO) meeting in San Antonio, November 7-10, 2018.

“Having so many students receive these honors is a testament to our students’ commitments to being active in optometry’s professional organizations and their academic performance,” said Dr. Candice Turner, assistant professor. “Ultimately, our goal as educators is to communicate the importance of community involvement so it continues once they enter the workforce.”

Hannah Greenfield, left, and School of Optometry Dean Nichols at graduation.

Hannah Greenfield, a 2018 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, has been named the first recipient of the American Optometric Student Association’s student of the year award. The inaugural award is given to a student who has shown leadership skills when serving their profession, patients and community.

2018 School of Optometry Graduates with Dean.

UABSO celebrated the class of 2018 on Mother’s Day weekend. The young men and women who received the doctor of optometry degree brought the number of optometrists UABSO has graduated to 1,600.

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation named Jonathan Davis and Haley Hixon, both fourth-year students at the UAB School of Optometry, 2017 Practice Excellence Scholarship recipients.

The Foundation annually selects students from each North American college or school of optometry based on submission by each institution. Davis and Hixon are among 44 top-performing optometry students in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who will receive awards totaling nearly $200,000.

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation has named Paul Brown, a third-year student at the UAB School of Optometry, a recipient of the 2017 Johnson & Johnson Vision J. Pat Cummings Scholarship.

The Foundation awards the scholarship annually to a second- or third-year optometry student at each North American school or college of optometry who best demonstrates the ideal eye care standards of practice, achievement in both academic performance and extra-curricular activities, and participation with other professional pursuits such as involvement with patients through internships, community service and volunteer activities.

Brown received a $1,000 scholarship and a personalized plaque as part of the award, which is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and named after a leader in optometry who died in a 2009 plane crash.

After third-year optometry student Shannon Kirchmer achieved her longime goal of running her first marathon — the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama this past February — she realized she was just two minutes shy of qualifying for the 2019 Boston Marathon.

“I knew I could do it,” she says.

With her new goal of competing in the world’s oldest annual marathon, she sought the help of a coach through a Birmingham running group to help her with a training plan.

On Nov. 4, she ran a personal record of 3:20:25 (a 7:39 mile pace) in the CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon — qualifying her for the Boston Marathon.

Ten students at the UAB School of Optometry have earned the title of Student Fellow with the American Academy of Optometry.

The Student Fellowship program offered by the Academy encourages students to experience the Academy’s annual meeting in the hopes it will stimulate improved integration of all opportunities offered at the meeting, encourage future involvement and persuade students to become future fellows.

Lauren Boudousquie, Jessica Boyd, Samantha Elliott and Natalie West standing in front of Capitol Hill

Four students at the UAB School of Optometry visited Capitol Hill on June 22 to meet with legislators and advocate for optometrists in Alabama.

Students Lauren Boudousquie, Jessica Boyd, Samantha Elliott and Natalie West joined School of Optometry faculty and other Alabama optometrists to meet with Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and staff members from the offices of Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) and Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.).

Family Legacy Alumni standing together at UAB's Optometry 2017 Graduate Ceremony

When the moment came for Stephanie Ross, O.D., to walk to the front of the stage and receive her doctoral hood at the UAB School of Optometry’s Convocation and Hooding Ceremony on May 12, the two faculty members performing the ceremonial hoodings stepped aside, and Ross’s parents stepped forward.

Carey Dillard being hooded at her Convocation and Hooding Ceremony

Shortly after Carey Dillard, O.D., joined UAB Eye Care as a clinic coordinator, she knew she had found her calling.

Dillard had known she wanted a career in health care, but she had been struggling to find the right avenue to pursue.

Optometry class of 2017 at their Convocation and Hooding Ceremony

The 2017 graduates of the UAB School of Optometry had made it a ritual to countdown to exams, the ends of semesters and the many other milestones through their years of optometric education, recalled class president Veronica Ferris-Metzger, O.D., in an address to her classmates.

But as she stood beside them on Friday, May 12, at the School of Optometry’s 44th Annual Convocation and Hooding Ceremony, Ferris-Metzger encouraged her fellow graduates to savor the present moment.

Donors and recipients of scholarships seated at UAB's School of Optometry Scholarship Luncheon

Photos by Andrea Mabry

Recipients of 53 scholarships and the donors who established them were honored at the UAB School of Optometry’s inaugural Scholarship Luncheon.

The donors of three new scholarships were also honored at the event, which was held April 28 at the Edge of Chaos in UAB’s Lister Hill Library.

Collage of Jessica Jasien, Shyam Panthi, Christopher Starr and Daniel Turner

Four students with the UAB School of Optometry Vision Science Graduate Program are recipients of travel grants for the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

Ten members of the UAB School of Optometry Class of 2017 have accepted residency positions and will receive advanced clinical education in specialty areas of optometry in the 2017-2018 academic year.

Five students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry were recognized at the 42nd annual UAB Honors Convocation, which was held March 30 at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

The following students were presented awards:

Twelve optometrists will join the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry as residents for the 2017-2018 academic year. The incoming residents filled slots in six programs offered by the School, and they will begin their training in the summer.

A graduate student at The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry will be recognized at the 42nd annual UAB Honors Convocation.

Katie Bales, a doctoral student in the Vision Science Graduate Program in the School of Optometry’s Department of Optometry and Vision Science, will receive an Outstanding Student Award at the ceremony, which will be held March 30 at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

Optometry class of 2020 pledging at their white coat ceremony.

Fifty first-year optometry students were presented with white coats—a symbol of passage from the classroom into clinical training—at The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry’s annual White Coat Ceremony, held Friday, March 10, at the UAB National Alumni Society House.

Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2016 who were recognized during this year's Graduate Day Awards Presentation.

The UAB School of Optometry held its 43rd Convocation and Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2016. The School conferred 46 Doctor of Optometry degrees and recognized residents completing the optometry residency program, as well as students who completed the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Vision Science degree programs.

The UAB School of Optometry held its annual White Coat Ceremony for second-year optometry students on Friday, August 19, 2016 at the UAB National Alumni Society House. The 48 members of the Class of 2019 were presented with the white coats as a symbol of their passage from the classroom into clinical training.

UAB School of Optometry faculty and PhD trainees, Anna Ablamowicz, OD, and Cameron Postnikoff, MASc, have been named Ezell Fellows by the American Optometric Foundation (AOF).

The AOF recently announced the nine recipients of the prestigious fellowships, named after the organization’s founding president, Dr. William C. Ezell. The program was established to provide talented post-doctoral students who are pursuing an advanced degree in optometric research and education recognition and support. More than 300 Ezell Fellowships have been awarded since the program’s 1949 inception.

Congratulations to the following UABSO residents who will be presenting papers or posters at the upcoming American Academy of Optometry meeting in New Orleans, LA. Resident’s Day will take place on Saturday, October 10th. Papers will be from 8-12 and Posters will be from 1:30-3:30. Please stop by to congratulate them and take a look at the interesting patient cases our residents are seeing!

The UAB School of Optometry is pleased to announce the incoming residents for 2015-16.