by Satina Richardson

Twin sisters Mary and Emily are fighters! The girls were born at 36 weeks and contracted a brain infection caused by parechovirus at three weeks old. When the girls were six months old their mother, Tara Monk, noticed her babies weren’t hitting their vision development milestones at the same time.

In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Brandon Runyon, OD. 

In July 2019, he became the Chinle Service Unit’s Chief of Optometry.  Since then, he has continued to serve as the residency program coordinator in addition to supervising and coordinating eye care services for approximately 37,000 Native Americans (predominantly Navajo) between the hospital clinic and two satellite outpatient optometry clinics. He would have never guessed this is where he would be now. Practicing the full scope of optometric practice has been very rewarding, affording him the opportunity to encounter and manage some very challenging and/or uncommon conditions that would otherwise be seen in a specialist’s office.

In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet C. T. (Tommy) Crooks III, OD.

As schools choose virtual learning and device-based instruction to educate children during the COVID-19 pandemic, a child’s eyes are an important consideration.

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With 60 new students and two returning students, the UAB School of Optometry’s class of 2024 is the largest class in the school’s 51-year history.

By Janene Sims, OD, PhD, UAB School of Optometry associate professor

The year 2020 has had many challenges: racial injustice, police brutality, and COVID-19. Late summer gave us a glimmer of hope. Deaths due to the coronavirus are on the decline. Schools and businesses are slowly reopening. The US economy is trying to rebound. Professional sports are back in action. Universities and businesses are having important conversations regarding race and inequities. Just when you think that things are beginning to improve, we have another shooting of an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mr. Blake was shot seven times in the back in front of his children. This outraged the citizens of Kenosha, so many took to the streets in protest.

By Satina Richardson

Jacob McKinstry’s mother recognized there was an issue with her son’s learning when his participation in three- and four-year-old kindergarten decreased. The school principal said he had ADHD, which wasn’t confirmed. He took a battery of tests that included an IQ test, an auditory test and two exams by ophthalmologists. Each test found no significant issues. His mother continued to research what could be happening with her son. Two and a half years later, following a Visual Efficiency Evaluation, vision therapy was recommended. 

By Satina Richardson

Our community and nation are confronting the ugly truth of our long legacy of systemic racial injustice after the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others who have suffered and died due to prejudice and racial injustice in America. In response, the UAB School of Optometry has launched EyeCare4Justice.

UAB Eye Care is one of the first clinics in the country to have MiSight® 1 day contact lenses, a daily wear, single use contact lens that slows the progression of myopia (nearsightedness). The clinic is the clinical arm of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry.

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 Ranjit Kaur, OD, 2020 Family Practice Resident 

The pandemic took a hard grip on the healthcare system, including Optometry. The last few months introduced us to challenges we were not quite prepared for as a healthcare system, and Doctors of Optometry have stood strong in response to the COVID-19 crisis. We focused on providing urgent and emergent care to our patients to reduce the burden on emergency departments, incorporating telemedicine into the practice in order to reduce exposure risk to the more vulnerable patients, and adopting a virtual clinical education platform for our students learning from home.

By UAB Eye Care Pediatric Optometry Services

As schools choose virtual learning and device-based instruction to enhance the education of children, the eyes are an important consideration. Below are facts, impacts, and recommendations for schools, teachers, and parents.  

In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Ian Benjamin Gaddie, OD, FAAO. 

By Satina Richardson

Marina Gorbatyuk, PhD, associate professor, has been invited by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to serve as a peer reviewer in the study section for the Biology of the Visual Systems Study Section, Center for Scientific Review. The appointment is for 4-years and places Gorbatyuk at the heart of the NIH’s grant process. 

A residency at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) in Nashville, TN, has launched, bringing the total number of residency programs available at the UAB School of Optometry to seven, with a total of 12 positions. This is one of two pediatric residencies available. The other is in-house at UAB Eye Care, the clinical arm of the UAB School of Optometry. 

By Satina Richardson

Robert Kleinstein, OD, MPH, PhD, retired UAB School of Optometry professor, has been appointed Professor Emeritus in the Department of Optometry and Vision Science by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System. Kleinstein retired from the UAB School of Optometry in 2019 following 45 years of service.

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.

By Satina Richardson

Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, has received the Contact Lens Cornea Section Legends Award from the American Optometric Association (AOA).

This award is given to optometrists who demonstrate intellectual depth and passion toward contact lenses, cornea, or refractive technology and quest for continued learning and firm foundation of basic and clinical sciences of contact lenses and anterior segment. Recipients also must exhibit exceptional leadership skills and mentoring, innovation, and desire to advance research.

In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Wendy Marsh-Tootle, OD, MS, FAAO.