IN THE NEWS

ACADEMY NEWS Passing of Pioneering Canadian Educator and Academy Fellow: Emerson Woodruff Academy Fellow of long standing and Professor Emeritus of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry, Merrill Emerson Woodruff, OD, MS, PhD FAAO passed away on May 8, 2005 after a long illness. Emerson was born and raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Following high school graduation, he served in the Second World War in the Canadian Air Force. Upon his discharge in 1945, he enrolled in the College of Optometry in Toronto. He set up successful practices in southwestern Ontario. However, in 1962, his keen interest in academic optometry took him to Indiana University to study under the late Henry Hofstetter. He received his PhD in physiological optics in 1967. He then joined the faculty of the School of Optometry, just as it opened its doors at the University of Waterloo. These were exciting times for optometry in Canada. Optometric education in Ontario and indeed for most of English speaking Canada had just been merged into a university program within the faculty of science at Waterloo. Emerson was immediately appointed clinic director and then served as the school’s director from 1975 to 1981. In 1967 he became an integral part of a small faculty who had been given the task of developing and shaping optometric education within Ontario and throughout Canada. There is little argument today that the optometric profession provides the major portion of primary eye care in Canada. However, that role was not so clear when Emerson vigorously articulated it back in those early university years. The School’s graduate program, with close to 50 students, is one of the largest vision science programs in the world. Emerson played a key role in the establishment of its MSc and PhD degrees. He was also a leading advocate for the need to provide effective continuing education for the profession. He contributed to scientific and clinic research in the areas of pediatric optometry and epidemiology, publishing over 70 articles. He was the recipient of many academic awards. He retired from the University of Waterloo in 1990.FigureIn recognition of his contribution to optometric education, his School established an annual Woodruff lecture in 1994. The lecture series serves to recognize clinician scientists in the field of vision and important topics in the continuing education of optometrists. Upon his death, the Dr. Emerson Woodruff Graduate Scholarship Fund in Vision Science has been established in his honor through the School of Optometry, University of Waterloo. Emerson was a deeply loved and loving husband to his wife, Doris, who shared his life to the end. He was a devoted and caring father to his daughters, Elaine, Ann, and Susan and their husbands, and an affectionate grandfather to his six grandchildren and one great grandchild. He shared with everyone his avid love of reading, music, nature, history, and travel, and passed on to his family his life long interest in learning and the importance of making a contribution to one’s community. Academy Fellows will surely miss him, and we pay tribute to his strong sense of the Academy mission of improved patient care through education and research. ORGANIZATION & INSTITUTION NEWS Schools and Colleges of Optometry Share Graduation Highlights for the Class of 2005 In May and June the U.S. and Canadian Schools and Colleges of Optometry celebrate the graduation of almost 1,400 new optometrists in the class of 2005. Here are some of the highlights many have reported to Optometry and Vision Science. University of Houston College of Optometry UHCO established a new tradition with 2005 commencement—the Golden Reunion. The Class of 1955, UHCO’s charter grads, were invited to participate in a host of activities celebrating graduation. Illinois College of Optometry Noted optometric researcher Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD, FAAO, served as Commencement speaker for Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Zadnik also received an Honorary D.O.S. degree in recognition of her extensive contributions to optometric science. University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry Following its traditional “Old Home Week,” this year’s UC Berkeley School of Optometry commencement for graduates honored the classes of 1945, 1955, and 1980, commemorating the 60th, 50th, and 25th anniversary of their graduation. They also graduated four PhDs and two Masters of Science in Vision Science. Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry Graduation events included a senior luncheon on May 25, banquet on May 26, and graduation ceremonies on May 28 at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida. University of Waterloo School of Optometry The convocation at Waterloo saw Dr. Scott Brisbin, FAAO, past president of the Canadian Association of Optometrists and the World Council of Optometry, receive an honorary Doctor of Laws. Professor Lyndon Jones, FAAO, received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award. The class of 2005 was the last to number only 60. Southern California College of Optometry At the Southern California College of Optometry Commencement held May 20, 2005, Mr. Bill Langston received the College’s very prestigious “Meritorious Service Award”. Mr. Langston’s construction company, Snyder/Langston, Inc., completed $21 million of campus construction projects during the past eight years. Indiana University The 70 IU graduates returned from rotations for a 2-d Capstone program May 4th and 5th. On Friday night, May 6th they held the graduation dinner and hooding ceremony with approximately 600 attendees. University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry University of Houston Provost Jerald W. Strickland keynoted the ceremony honoring 44 graduates with his remarks. Dean Larry Davis presented Dr. Strickland with the Dean’s Meritorious Service Award. The Ohio State University The speaker for the June 11th OSU College of Optometry 2005 doctoral convocation was two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin, President and CEO of the OSU Alumni Association. École d’optométrie de l’université de Montréal On June 3, the Montreal School of Optometry (ÉEcole d’optométrie de l’université de Montréal) graduated its 94th class with 40 new graduates. Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry conferred doctor of optometry degrees on 25 students, Saturday, May 7, 2005. Five of those optometric physicians will be entering a postgraduate residency. The New England College of Optometry The New England College of Optometry presented the honorary Doctor of Ocular Science degree to Dr. Irwin Borish. It also presented its first Master of Science in Vision Science degrees. Medicare Allows Patients to Pay for Accommodative IOLs Medicare patients who desire to have a presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) implanted during cataract surgery now have the option to pay privately for the IOL, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has ruled. Before the new ruling, Medicare rules “prevented beneficiaries from receiving these lenses,” the CMS said in a statement. “Now beneficiaries who choose to purchase this additional feature will be able to do so.” Two accommodative IOLs are currently approved. The Crystalens was approved for marketing in the United States in November 2003, and the AcrySof ReStor was approved in March 2005, but Medicare reimbursement for these types of lenses has been the subject of debate until this ruling. The CMS statement noted that payment for conventional IOLs in an outpatient setting is covered by Medicare. Providers have generally not offered presbyopia-correcting IOLs to Medicare beneficiaries “because the costs for this advanced technology substantially exceed Medicare’s payment,” the CMS said. For example, the standard Medicare reimbursement for a conventional IOL is $200, but the suggested price for the eyeonics Crystalens has been set at $825, and Alcon has said the price for its AcrySof ReStor apodized diffractive IOL will be $875. The CMS ruling clarifies that a beneficiary may request insertion of a presbyopia-correcting IOL in place of a conventional IOL following cataract surgery and elect to pay privately for the difference between these amounts. “In this case, the presbyopia-correcting IOL device and associated services for fitting one lens are considered partially covered by Medicare,” the CMS statement said. “The beneficiary is responsible for payment of that portion of the charge for the presbyopia-correcting IOL and associated services that exceed the charge for insertion of a conventional IOL.” INDUSTRY NEWS Two-year Data from Clinical Trial of Retisert is Noted by Bausch & Lomb At the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), lead investigator Dr. Glenn J. Jaffe, professor of Ophthalmology, a vitreoretinal specialist and director of the Uveitis Service at Duke University Eye Center, Durham, N.C., presented the results of the analysis of two-year data from the Phase IIb/III randomized, dose-masked, multicenter clinical trial of Retisert (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant) for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye. In this trial, conducted at 26 centers in the United States and at one center in Singapore, 278 people with noninfectious uveitis of the posterior segment of the eye were randomized to receive either a 0.59 mg or a 2.1 mg implant in the affected eye, or in bilateral cases, in the more severely afflicted eye. The fellow eye was implant free. Retisert is the first intravitreal drug product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of this sight-threatening inflammatory condition. Retisert consists of a tiny drug reservoir designed to deliver sustained levels of the well-known corticosteroid fluocinolone acetonide directly to the back of the eye for approximately 30 months (two-and-a-half years). Jaffe presented the aggregate results of the two formulations noting a recurrence rate reduction and a reduced need for adjunct treatments (including systemic corticosteroid and/or immunosuppressive therapy, periocular injections of steroids, and topical steroid therapy) with Retisert Jaffe also reported that visual acuity was stabilized or improved in the majority of eyes with Retisert Jaffe reported that at two years, the most common adverse events included cataract progression and increased intraocular pressure (IOP), which were anticipated given the nature of the disease and the type of drug used. Patients in the study will be followed for an additional year. Bausch & Lomb is targeting mid-year availability of Retisert.

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.