American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) announces Eugene Appenteng Osae, OD, UHCO PhD Candidate, as the 2018 Joseph T. Barr Early Career Cornea and Contact Lens Research Award Recipient.
The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) has announced that four UHCO researchers - Maria Walker, OD, MS, FAAO; Gareth Hastings, BOptom; Suraj Upadhyaya, OD, FAAO; and Laura Pardon, OD, MS, FAAO - have been selected as recipients of the 2018 William C. Ezell Fellowships. They were among a total of 13 recipients awarded this year.
As UHCO welcomes the 18-19 clinical residents and fellows we say goodbye to our 17-18 family of residents and fellows. Between the University Eye Institute, Community Clinics and external partnerships, UHCO provides 12 residencies and 2 fellowships, each year.
Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Dr. Mario Gutierrez ’84 to the Texas Optometry Board (TOB) and he will also serve as the board’s presiding officer. According to Dr. Gutierrez, the TOB will modernize the continuing education (CE) recording process to make it more efficient and easier for licensees to track. The board will also expedite new graduate licensing so that they are able to practice shortly after graduation.
UHCO biomedical engineer Vijaykrishna Raghunathan has received $765,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine an understudied part of glaucoma – the ebb and flow of aqueous humor, the liquid in the eye whose regulation controls eye pressure. His work could lead to a pharmaceutical cure for the irreversible disease.
Gayle Karanges, OD, '85, is a born entrepreneur. As a young girl, she started out making money teaching horseback riding lessons to kids in her neighborhood. After earning her optometry degree in 1985, she fearlessly ventured to start her own practice. Learn Dr. Karanges’s philosophy of running a private practice and how to thrive as an entrepreneur.
UHCO's community clinics have been established since the 1980's providing over 23,000 Texans a year comprehensive eye care. Thanks to the efforts, through the years, of Pat Segu, OD, '92; Joe DeLoach, OD, '81; Marcus Gonzales, OD, '06; Jennifer Deakins, OD, '10; Zanna Krouch, OD, '09; Susana Moreno, OD, '14; Nancy George, OD, '81; Lloyd Pate, OD, '86; and Jennifer Garza, OD, '13; our community clinics have allowed UHCO to increase the number of externs, the number of patients seen annually, and engaged more with communities for a healthier tomorrow. Our community clinics are carrying out our mission which is Enhancing Vision for Life.
To better serve the diverse population of Houston, UHCO created a unique partnership, in 2014, with the Asian American Health Coalition, dba HOPE Clinic, to provide eye care to Houston's growing Asian community.
Roger L Boltz, OD, ’72, PhD, ’78, FAAO recently received the 2018 UHCO Alumnus of the Year award at the college’s graduation ceremony held on May 12, 2018. In his brief address to graduates, Dr. Boltz said as they enter the profession, patients will view them as being knowledgeable, skilled and competent.
“And, people who know you will think of you as an optometrist who is intelligent, trustworthy and ethical. I wish you all a happy life.” he said.
