Tag: College of Optometry

NSU Optometry Student Receives National Scholarship


Jeremy Chartash, a fourth-year student at NSU’s College of Optometry was honored with the Dr. Pat & Patrick Cummings Scholarship ($5,000) from The AOA Foundation, the charitable organization of the American Optometric Association (AOA). The AOA Foundation administers numerous scholarships that encourage students to make a difference for their community and the profession of optometry.

In tribute to father and son, both of whom passed away in separate tragic accidents, the Dr. Pat & Patrick Cummings Memorial Fund was established through Optometry Cares. This opportunity was generously funded by numerous individual donors, as well as a large contribution from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.

As Cummings was a dedicated philanthropist in his profession, the scholarship requires recipients to write an essay about their goals in the area of public health and leadership roles in optometry.
https://nsunews.nova.edu/nsu-optometry-student-receives-national-scholarship/

NEHEP Welcomes College of Optometry Associate Professor to Planning Committee


The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) announced Janet Leasher, O.D., M.P.H, F.A.A.O., associate professor of optometry at NSU’s College of Optometry, as its new Planning Committee member for 2015‒2018. The Planning Committee, which advises the National Eye Institute on the overall development, implementation, and evaluation of NEHEP activities, comprises experts in eye care and public health education.

Leasher has served as the director of community outreach for NSU’s College of Optometry since June 2003. She spearheads community health education and promotion projects in visual health. Her current teaching assignments in the Doctor of Optometry program include public health didactic courses and primary care, pediatric, and binocular vision clinics. She is also a member of the faculty in the Master of Science Clinical Vision Research program and holds a faculty appointment within the Public Health program at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her research interests include program evaluation and global access to quality vision care.
https://nsunews.nova.edu/nehep-welcomes-college-of-optometry-associate-professor-to-planning-committee/

Nova Southeastern University Optometry Student Ties for Highest Score in Country on National Exam


The National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) has announced that third-year NSU College of Optometry student Emily M. Korszen tied one other student for the highest score in the nation on the Part I Applied Basic Science (ABS) Examination in 2015.

As a result, Korszen will be presented with the 2015 Dr. Norman E. Wallis Award for Excellence by Melvin D. Shipp, O.D., Dr.Ph., M.P.H., president of NBEO, at the Annual Meeting of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) in Seattle on June 26. The award was established to honor Dr. Wallis’ 25 years of outstanding service as executive director of NBEO. Korszen will receive a personalized plaque and a full refund of the Part I ABS registration fee.

“When I got the news, I was surprised, but I felt that my classmates and I prepared as much as we could for the exam,” said Korszen. “The faculty at NSU have been instrumental, not just in our preparation for the exam, but for our future as optometrists. This is a credit to their hard work as well.”

Korszen is on track to graduate from NSU’s College of Optometry in 2016. A native of Englewood, Florida, she earned her bachelor of science in neurobiological sciences with a minor in East-Central European Studies from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Korszen previously received the J. Pat Cummings Scholarship from the American Optometric Foundation and was named to the NSU Health Professions Division’s Chancellor’s List for six consecutive semesters for maintaining a GPA in the top 5 percent.

“Ms. Korszen is an exceptional student and we are proud that the knowledge she has gained at NSU will someday translate to caring for her patients and help further the optometry profession,” said David Loshin, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO, dean of NSU’s College of Optometry. “Emily and her fellow optometry students at NSU are among the best and brightest in the nation, and we are very proud of them.”

Korszen is active in extracurricular activities, serving as secretary of NSU’s College of Optometry’s Student Government Association, vice president of the Gold Key Optometric Honor Society, class representative of the American Optometric Student Association, and as a member of Beta Sigma Kappa Optometric Honor Society, where she tutors fellow students.

Established in 1951, the National Board of Examiners in Optometry is a private, nonprofit organization that develops, administers, and scores examinations, and reports the results, that state regulatory boards utilize in licensing optometrists to practice eye care. Licensure is a public interest, public protection regulatory function of many professions, particularly in the health professions, due to the importance of receiving competent care. In serving the public and the profession for 64 years, the National Board has compiled a distinguished record of accomplishments that include being the first national board among the doctoral level health professions to eliminate grading-on-a-curve, and one of the few national boards in any profession with a repertoire of examinations that includes conventional multiple-choice tests (single- and multiple-response items), computer-based examinations, and a clinical skills test with standardized patients at the National Center of Clinical Testing in Optometry.
Emily Korszen video
https://nsunews.nova.edu/nova-southeastern-university-optometry-student-ties-for-highest-score-in-country-on-national-exam-2/

NSU Research Spotlight: NSU Optometry Researcher Wins Envision Research Proposal Competition


Envision recently awarded a research prize of $10,000 to a multidisciplinary team led by Ava Bittner, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO (Dipl.) of Nova Southeastern University (NSU), to fund a one-year investigation into the preliminary efficacy of telerehabilitation, i.e., using HIPAA-secure videoconferencing to deliver follow-up low vision services to visually impaired individuals who live in remote areas or otherwise have difficulty getting to a specialist’s office.

The research proposal, “Feasibility of Telerehabilitation for Low Vision,” was a result of a research proposal development seminar held during the 2015 Envision Conference in Denver. It was selected from multiple entries submitted for Envision’s inaugural Research Proposal Competition, an initiative sponsored by the Envision Research Institute.

“We believe the future of low vision research lies in the power of collaboration, and we are delighted to be funding this team, led by Bittner,” said ERI Executive Director Laura Walker, Ph.D. “The research itself is incredibly important for advancing rehabilitative vision care. The most exciting part, however, is how this team has organized to carry it out so effectively.”

“I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award,” said Bittner, an associate professor at NSU’s College of Optometry in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Fla. “I have wanted to do a study like this for some time, but needed some pilot funds to get underway. I am really excited to work with the research team and to meet others in the area of low vision rehabilitation who have a mutual interest. It is truly wonderful that Envision is supporting low vision research in this way.”

The ERI solicited proposals for projects involving low vision clinical practitioners, educators, and researchers from varying backgrounds to highlight the multidisciplinary nature of the Envision Conference. Applications were evaluated based on innovation, feasibility, team strength, and diversity and impact. The contest will be held again this year as part of Envision’s ongoing efforts to attract and support groundbreaking research specifically related to blindness and low vision. Details about the 2016 Research Proposal Competition will be announced during the 11th annual Envision Conference on Sept. 7-10 in Denver.

“Envision Conference provides a unique opportunity for specialists with different degrees and areas of interest to exchange information, further their education and approach vision issues from new perspectives,” said Michael Epp, Manager of Professional Education at Envision. “To underscore this mission, we introduced an intensive course on how to develop and successfully submit a research project proposal. We encouraged participants to create multidisciplinary teams to execute their proposed projects, and it was truly inspiring to see how eagerly they embraced that objective.”

Bittner received her optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, and her Ph.D. in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. She completed a clinical research post-doctoral fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore before joining its faculty as an assistant professor. She is currently an associate professor at NSU’s College of Optometry, where she focuses primarily on conducting clinical research involving individuals with visual impairment. Assisting Bittner as co-investigators in the study will be:

Tony Succar, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Envision Research Institute in Wichita;
John D. Shepherd, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska;
Angie Bowers, MOT, OTR/L, a licensed occupational therapist employed by Alphapointe, a Kansas City-based agency providing rehabilitation and education for people with vision loss;
Vernon Odom, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology and adjunct associate professor of psychology at West Virginia University, where he also heads the West Virginia Lions Visual Function Laboratory; and
Patrick Yoshinaga, O.D., M.P.H., chief of low vision rehabilitation services and assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry, at Marshall B. Ketchum University where he teaches in low vision, ophthalmic optics, and public health.
In addition, Andrew Jacobson, a sales engineer at technology solutions provider Black Box Network Services, will serve as wireless consultant on the project. Amy Nau, O.D., an optometrist in the Boston-based offices of Korb & Associates, will serve as a telerehabilitation consultant and Nicole Ross, O.D., M.Sc., FAAO, assistant professor at the New England College of Optometry in Boston, will serve as project manager.

Envision is currently accepting registrations and program submissions for the 2016 Envision Conference with details posted at envisionconference.org. Further information on the ERI and Envision Conference can be found online at envisionus.com.
https://nsunews.nova.edu/nsu-research-spotlight-nsu-optometry-researcher-wins-envision-research-proposal-competition/

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