About Our College | Faculty Directory

Dr. Anderson completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science and a Minor in Music at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX and then went on to earn both her OD and PhD at the University of Houston College of Optometry. She is the co-coursemaster of clinic practicum I & II and conducts research related to the visual system of children with and without special needs. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, was a two time recipient of the American Optometric Foundation Ezell Fellowship, and received the University of Houston Excellence in Teaching Group Teaching Award in 2015.

I, Dr. Baskar Arumugam received BSc in Optometry at Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry and a Fellowship in Clinical Optometry (Resident) at the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, India. I subsequently went on complete my Ph.D with Prof. Neville McBrien’s lab at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In 2012, I joined University of Houston College of Optometry to take up post-doctoral research training to define the optical performance properties of the vision-dependent mechanisms that regulate ocular growth in rhesus monkeys. My current research interest is to develop effective optical and pharmacological treatment strategies to reduce or inhibit myopia progression in children.

I received a best outgoing optometry resident award from LVPEI and secured a Young Investigator Award at the 14th International Myopia Conference (IMC) that was held at California, USA. I am a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) and member of other vision science community such as The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and Optometry Council of India (OCI).

Dr. Jan P.G. Bergmanson received his optometric training and PhD at the City University, London. In addition, he obtained a Doctor of Optometry degree from Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Currently, Dr. Bergmanson is Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO), where he is the founding Director of the Texas Eye Research and Technology Center (TERTC). He has extensively researched and lectured internationally on subjects of corneal morphological response to contact lens wear, tear and ophthalmic solution effects on the ocular surface, histopathology of ocular tissues damaged by ultraviolet radiation, and the effects of the Excimer Laser on the cornea. In addition to private optometric practice, Dr. Bergmanson, certified in Texas as a Therapeutic Optometrist and as an Optometric Glaucoma Specialist, has provided patient care in several hospital and university clinics. Dr. Bergmanson is a Foundation Fellow of the College of Optometry in United Kingdom, where he remains licensed to practice, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, where he is a Diplomate in the Cornea and Contact Lens Section. He is a member of the Texas Optometric Association (TOA), American Optometric Association (AOA), Association of Contact Lens Educators, and International Association of Contact Lens Educators. He is a council member of the International Society for Contact Lens Research and a lifetime honorary member of the Swedish and Dutch Optometric Associations, to which he also serves as a consultant. Dr. Bergmanson is the recipient of the 1998 British Contact Lens Association Gold Medal Award, the 2002 Texas Optometric Association's Educator of the Year Award, the University of Houston College of Optometry 2003 Cora and J. Davis Armistead Faculty Teaching Award and the 2005 Swedish Optometric Association's Mark of Honor Award.

David A. Berntsen, OD, PhD, FAAO completed his Doctor of Optometry degree in 2002 at the University of Houston College of Optometry in Houston, TX. He then completed a Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship at The Ohio State University College of Optometry in Columbus, OH. The fellowship program combined a two-year residency with a Master of Science degree in Vision Science, which Dr. Berntsen completed in 2004. He then completed a PhD in Vision Science at Ohio State in 2009.

Dr. Roger Boltz hold both an O.D., and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry.  He has been a faculty member since 1978 and he has held a number of administrative positions at the college.  He currently serves as an Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Finance and Administration.  His clinical and teaching interests are in the area of cornea and contact lenses.

Education and Training:  B.A.degree, University of South Florida; Doctor of Optometry degree, Southern College of Optometry; Residency Certificate from VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, with emphasis in low vision and ocular pathology

Professional Experiences: Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry; member of the Texas Optometric Association and awarded their “Young Optometrist of the Year” and “Molly Armstrong Leadership” Awards; member of the American Optometric Association and has participated on or chaired several national committees including the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Committee; lectured nationally and internationally on low vision and vision rehabilitation; formerly produced syndicated radio program geared toward persons with low vision and reading disabilities called “Carman and Thompson;” formerly a member and the Chair of the Texas Optometry Board after being Texas Governor appointed twice; Texas Rehabilitation Association “Physician of the Year” Award; published “Talc Retinopathy” article; participated on Independent Review Board reviewing pharmaceutical research studies; served as an investigator in clinical studies

Dr. Chandler obtained her Doctor of Optometry degree from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 2003. She completed a residency in Binocular Vision and Pediatrics in 2004 from University of Missouri-St. Louis. After her residency, Dr. Chandler returned to The Ohio State University College of Optometry and served as a clinical instructor in Pediatrics/Binocular Vision, the Ohio State School for the Blind Service, and the Primary Care Service. She was a staff optometrist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic, where she provided direct patient care and served as a board member for the Ohio Amblyope Registry for over six years. Upon relocating to Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Chandler worked in the research clinic at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, where she served as a clinical investigator for over 200 clinical trials, a principal investigator for over 50 trials, and as a medical writer/quality assurance specialist.

In 2016, she joined the University Of Houston College Of Optometry as a Visiting Assistant Professor. She is a co-investigator for the Bifocal Lenses in Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) study, assists in the Pediatric and Strabismus Laboratories for second and third year optometry students, and is a clinical attending in the Family Practice Service.

She is a member of the Texas Optometric Association, American Optometric Association and is currently working on earning her Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry.

Her research and clinical interests include Pediatrics, Amblyopia, Contact Lenses, and Myopia Control.

Dr. Cheng earned both her PhD and OD degrees from the University of Houston, College of Optometry. After graduation, she became an associate in a private practice at Sugarland, Texas. She joined the MacGregor Medical Association in 1999 and practiced optometry there until she became a faculty member at the UH College of Optometry in 2002.

Yuzo Chino, Ph.D. is Professor of Vision Sciences in the College of Optometry at the University of Houston. Dr. Chino joined the College of Optometry in 1988, and prior to that, was a faculty member at the Illinois College of Optometry following completion of his Ph.D. in 1973. His research interest is centered around the visual system development and plasticity in the visual brain and the effects of abnormal visual experience on the postnatal development of binocular functions. An internationally-recognized vision scientist, Dr. Chino has received continuous support from the National Eye Institute since 1975 for his work entitled ""Amblyopia."" After moving to the United States in 1965, he completed a BS degree at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin. In 1973, he obtained a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in Syracuse New York. A current member of the research Council of the University of Houston, Dr. Chino's articles and papers frequently appear in leading scientific journals. In addition to his research, Dr. Chino continues to teach and mentor candidates in UHCO's Graduate program in addition to teaching Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology to first-year optometry students.

Dr. Coates received his PhD in Vision Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2015, where he studied letter recognition, peripheral visual perception, and crowding, using psychophysics and computational modeling. After postdoctoral appointments in Belgium and Switzerland studying the relationships between crowding, attention, and appearance, he joined the faculty of UHCO in 2017.

His research and teaching interests include spatial vision, color vision, reading, and statistical and psychophysical methods. He is passionate about the use of open source tools for experimentation, analysis, and learning.

I received my undergraduate degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India in 1992 majoring in Electronics Engineering. I then moved to the United States for graduate studies and completed a M.S and Ph.D. degree in 1998 in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. My work, carried out under the mentorship of Dr. John Leigh, primarily examined the interactions between visual-oculomotor and vestibular systems. I did post-doctoral work at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University with Dr. Michael Mustari from 1999 to 2002. During this time I learnt the technique of single cell extracellular recording in the awake-behaving monkey and also became interested in examining visual-oculomotor mechanisms in the strabismic primate. I was appointed to the faculty at Emory University in 2002 and received an independent investigator award from the National Institutes of Health in 2004 to study neural circuits mediating binocular coordination of eye movements in the strabismic monkey. I have since maintained continued NIH funding. I joined the faculty of the College of Optometry, University of Houston in 2009. The goal of research in my laboratory is to continue to uncover the disruption of neural processing in various brain areas in the strabismic monkeys. A better understanding of neural mechanisms that are affected in the different forms of strabismus will help develop rationally based therapy.

Originally from Houston, TX, Dr. Jennifer L. Deakins attended the University of Miami in Florida for undergraduate studies and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, focusing on public health. She received her Doctor of Optometry Degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry, graduating Magna Cum Laude and completed internships focusing on glaucoma, retinal disease, and LASIK co-management. She completed a year-long residency in Ocular Disease at Cedar Springs Eye Clinic in Dallas, TX. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Texas Optometric Association and is active in Grassroots and Legislative efforts. Dr. Deakins has presented continuing education on Neuroimaging, B Scan Technology, and Retina Vascular Complications. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry and a candidate for Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry.

Currently, Dr. Deakins is the Clinic Director of Community Eye Clinic in Fort Worth. An outreach clinic of UHCO, this clinic serves the under-privileged patients of Fort Worth and is a student externship site for UHCO and Rosenberg College of Optometry.

Joe DeLoach OD completed undergraduate training at Texas A&M University where he was designated an Academic Fellow in Biochemical Genetics. He received his Doctorate of Optometry from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1981. Dr. DeLoach currently serves as Clinical Director of the UEI BridgeBuilder Eye Clinic, an indigent care clinic in Dallas that serves as a primary training facility for UHCO externs and residents. Prior to joining the clinical staff at UHCO, Dr. DeLoach was Chief of Staff of Plano Eye Associates. He also served as Medical Director of the EyeCare and Surgery Center of North Texas for almost two decades. Dr. DeLoach is a Past President of the Texas Optometric Association where he was named Young Optometrist of the Year and Optometrist of the Year in addition to fourteen President’s Awards and the Distinguished Service Award. He served as Chairman of the Legal and Legislative Committee twice. UHCO awarded him the Distinguished Alumni Award, William B. Pittman Award, and Educator of the Year Award. Dr. DeLoach also served on the Texas Optometry Board and received the Admiral of the Texas Navy for his service to the State. He lectures extensively on topics related to glaucoma and ocular disease management.

Karen Fern received her Doctor of Optometry from Pacific University College of Optometry and completed a residency in pediatric optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and a member of the American Optometric Association and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. Dr. Fern's teaching includes the areas of pediatric optometry and binocular vision and involves both classroom and clinical attending. She serves as Director of Residency Programs and Director of the Pediatric and Binocular Vision Service. Dr. Fern's research interests include vision development, binocular vision, myopia, and quality of life instruments. She was the recipient of the American Academy of Optometry Garland Clay in 1987 recognizing her outstanding publication in the Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics. 

Dr. Ferreira graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organismal and Integrative Biology with a double minor in Chemistry and Italian. She went on to obtain her Doctor of Optometry degree and Pediatric residency from the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO). Dr. Ferreira is also a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at UHCO where her primary interest and focus is in pediatric primary care, specialty pediatric care, binocular vision, and brain injury eye exams. She also teaches in areas of pediatric binocular vision. Dr. Ferreira was awarded the 2014 Terrance N. Ingraham Pediatric Optometry Residency Award by the American Optometric Foundation.

Dr. Frishman received her undergraduate degree from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie N.Y. and her MS and PhD in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She did postdoctoral training in visual neuroscience at Northwestern University and the University of California San Francisco where she also was a research faculty member. She joined the Optometry faculty in the College of Optometry in 1990, and she has taught in both the professional and graduate programs. Her research has focused on refining noninvasive electrophysiological approaches for evaluating retinal and anterior visual pathway function in normal subjects and subjects with inherited or acquired diseases that affect visual function.

Dr. Frishman is on the editorial board of Translational Vision Science and Technology (TVST) an academic editor for Plos One, and she was Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Visual Neuroscience (2001-2007), and Documenta Ophthalmologica (2006-2013). She has served on federal grant review panels, the NIH/NEI National Advisory Eye Council, and she is a fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (FARVO), American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) and a board member of the International Society for the Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV). 

Dr. Gaume Giannoni received her O.D. degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) in 2001 and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Cornea and Contact Lens Research with the Texas Eye Research and Technology Center the following year. Dr. Gaume Giannoni is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is certified in Texas as an Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. She is on the Editorial Board for Advanced Ocular Care and is a journal reviewer for Optometry and Optometry and Vision Science. Dr. Gaume Giannoni writes a recurrent dry eye column in Contact Lens Spectrum and is also a contributing editor for Ocular Surface News.

Currently, Dr. Gaume Giannoni is a Clinical Associate Professor at UHCO, where she lectures in the clinic, didactic and laboratory curriculums. She serves as the Course Master for two clinic procedures labs and is the Co-Course Master for the entire second year optometry class. Dr. Gaume Giannoni is also the Founding Director of the Dry Eye Center at the University Eye Institute where she sees specialty dry eye patients.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Dr. Gavin Gerondale received his undergraduate degree, a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma and completed his Doctor of Optometry degree at Northeastern Oklahoma State University College of Optometry, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. After 25 years of private practice in the Houston Area Dr. Gerondale now serves as the Director of the UH Mobile Eye Institute. For more information see: https://www.opt.uh.edu/patient-care/mobile-eye-institute/

Dr. Gonzales completed his OD degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 2006. He then went onto to complete an ocular disease residency at the now Cedar Springs Eye Clinic (formerly Bridge Builders) in Dallas, TX. He currently serves as the clinic director of the inner-city charity clinic caring for the diseased indigent population. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and was named the 2009 Educator of the Year by the Texas Optometric Association as well as received a President’s Award in 2011. His interests are in ocular disease, specifically glaucoma and retinal disease.

Ronald S. Harwerth, OD, PhD, is the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1970. Prior to joining the UHCO faculty, Dr. Harwerth received his training in optometry at the University of Houston and his graduate research training at the University of Texas Houston, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His research involves behavioral studies of monkeys with experimentally induced vision or ocular disorders that model common clinical conditions of humans. His current projects involve investigations of relationships between neural losses and visual defects caused by glaucoma. Dr. Harwerth has maintained research from the National Eye Institute for 28 years and Alcon Research, Ltd. for 16 years. The results of his studies have produced over 130 publications. His active memberships include the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Perimetry Society, the American Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Glaucoma Society. Among his honors are the Glenn A. Fry Award and the Garland W. Clay Award from the American Academy of Optometry, an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the State University of New York, an Alumnus of the Year of the University of Houston, College of Optometry, the International Glaucoma Review Research Award, and the UHCO Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award.

Dr. Ralph Herring is a native Texan and third-generation optometrist.   He was born and raised in Amarillo and came to the University of Houston to complete his undergraduate as well as Doctor of Optometry degrees.  This was followed by a Residency in Family Practice Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry.  Following one year of private practice in Lubbock, Dr. Herring returned to his alma mater to join the University of Houston faculty where he has now been for over thirty years.

Dr. Herring currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Professional Studies as well as the Director of External Education and Third-Year Clinic Course master...  As Director of External Education, Dr. Herring administers the senior level clinical training program which utilizes a network of over seventy affiliated public and private clinics located locally, statewide, and across the country.

Dr. Herring is a Clinical Professor and is a clinical instructor in multiple patient services in the University Eye Institute.  He has also served on many college committees.

Dr. Herring became a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry in 2014. He completed a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Texas Woman’s University in 2001.  Professional memberships include the American Optometric Association, the Texas Optometric Association and Beta Sigma Kappa.

Dr. Herring continues his family’s strong commitment to volunteer service.  He has been a Special Olympics volunteer for nearly 25 years and is now a Regional Clinical Advisor for the Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes program.  Dr. Herring also serves on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Texas.  He has been a member of Lions Club International since 1983, and he currently serves on the Endowment Board of the Montrose Center

Nicky R. Holdeman, O.D., M.D., is a Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical Education, and the Executive Director of the University Eye Institute at the University of Houston.  Dr. Holdeman received his optometric degree at the University of Houston and his medical training from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, and the University of Texas, Southwestern in Dallas.

Dr. Holdeman has lectured internationally on various medical and ophthalmic topics.  He is on the editorial board and review board for various journals and has served as a medical consultant for several law firms.  Dr. Holdeman is an author and co-editor of “Ocular Therapeutic Handbook: A Clinical Manual”, (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd editions) and an author and section editor for “Clinical Ocular Pharmacology’ (4^th and 5^th editions) by Bartlett and Jaanus. 

Dr. Holdeman is a former Committee Chairman for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, has served on the State Medical Advisory Board for Prevent Blindness, is a member of the Academic Physicians Section of the American Medical Association and serves as Chair of the Community Health Improvement & Communications Committee and consultant to the Board of Medical Legislation for the Harris County Medical Society.