Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science Alumni

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Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science Alumni

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This is the page for alumni of the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science.

Established in 1923, the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry is the second-oldest active university optometry program in the United States and has been committed to producing excellence in both academics and research. Providing superior-quality training programs and extensive clinic experience to its carefully-selected students, the UC Berkeley Optometry School maintains its high technical standards while preparing students for successful careers in the field of optometry. In addition to offering this clinical training, the school’s world-class faculty are engaged in pioneering research in vision science, doing groundbreaking work to provide better primary vision care as well as improved diagnoses, treatments, and preventative care of vision disorders. Berkeley Optometry's alumni and faculty have served as presidents of national, state, and local organizations, testifying to the school's significant role in advancing the profession of optometry. The extensive network of alumni produced by Berkeley Optometry includes educators, private practice owners, researchers, and many other vision science professionals.

10/11/2026

Alumni gathered at the Almanac Brewery in Alameda for our Reunion Celebration. Classmates across multiple generations reconnected over drinks, enjoyed the Berkeley spirit, and took class photos.

We recognized Dr. Clyde Oden (OD ‘68) with the Micheal G. Harris Service Award, Dr. Chris Wilmer (OD ‘97) was presented with the Mert Flom Teaching Award, given to her by members of the class of 2001 on their 25th Anniversary, and Dr. Siu Wong (OD ‘70) was selected as the Alumnus of the Year.

We wrapped up the weekend in Emeryville with a reception honoring our alumni award winners and a tour of the Emeryville clinic. To everyone who joined us, thank you! We loved seeing your enthusiasm for Berkeley and for all of your colleagues and friends!

10/08/2026

We are happy to share that Assistant Clinical Professors Jeffrey Kong and Celia Yeung have been selected to receive the Michael G Harris Junior Faculty AAO Travel Award.

On the student side, Monica Do and Michelle Hoang have each received the OD AAO Student Travel Fellowship, which was secured by the School through the AAO Foundation challenge last year.

Congrats to all!

10/02/2026

A new paper titled, “How Gaze Direction and Dynamics Affect Visual Resolution,” has been published in eNeuro by Josselin Gautier, Norick R. Bowers, Martin S. Banks, and Austin Roorda.

When humans hold their gaze on an object, their eyes are in constant motion, yet the consequent movement of the image on the retina is not perceived. Using advanced optical methods to measure the exact trajectory of fixated images on the photoreceptor mosaic and the consequent visual performance in a repeated acuity task we reveal a highly evolved oculomotor system. Humans exhibit machine-like control over their ocular fixation, using a combination of drifts and saccades (fast flicks of eye gaze) to maintain the image of fixated objects on a tiny retinal region called the preferred retinal locus (PRL). Only rarely does the gaze ever shift far enough away to compromise visual performance.

For more information, check out the video at https://youtube.com/shorts/BEfj0xyIjjQ?is=QSndebaafNGuuLbb

Paper: https://www.eneuro.org/content/13/9/ENEURO.0176-26.2026.full

09/30/2026

We are pleased and proud to report that three of our former OD students have received AAO Residency Awards. Congrats to all and keep up the excellent work!

Nour Sarangi, OD '26
Terrance N. Ingraham Pediatric Optometry Residency Award
UCB Pediatric Optometry & Primary Care Optometry Residency

Kaitlyn Lee, OD '26
George Mertz Contact Lens Residency Award
SUNY - Combined Optometry Residency & Graduate Degree in Vision Science

Samantha Ito, OD '26
Sheldon Wechsler Contact Lens Residency Award
SCCO - Cornea and Contact Lens Residency

09/26/2026

On Sunday, September 13, Dr. Mike and a group of optometry students visited Justride Studio in Concord for a wellness spin class -- a high-intensity group cardio workout on stationary bikes. The outing focused on aligning mind, body, and soul, offering everyone a chance to recharge outside the classroom. Events like this serve as a great reminder of the importance of community, health, and balance throughout our academic journey. And it's fun!

09/25/2026

The Vision Science PhD Application for the 2026 - 2027 cycle is open! Applicants can apply through UC Berkeley’s Graduate Application on https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions. Anyone interested in conducting research in our interdisciplinary program should apply. Applicants can emphasize in areas such as computational vision, biological sciences, neuroscience and more. Applications close on December 7th, 2026 at 11:59pm pacific time. For more information, please consult our website at vision.berkeley.edu.

09/23/2026

We are happy to report that the fall schedule for Oxyopia is now available! Oxyopia is a seminar series featuring lectures on basic, clinical, and applied research in vision. Unless otherwise noted, these lectures take place on Mondays at 12pm in 489 Minor Hall. The lectures are free and open to the public.

09/21/2026

Six current OD students (all former T35 students!) and two current VS students will be presenting at the upcoming American Academy of Optometry meeting in Anaheim. See below for presentation titles and schedules. Congrats to all, and good luck!

Current OD students:

YuYi Lu (T35, Mentor: Dennis Levi)
Redundancy masking increases with eccentricity but does not correlate with crowding.
Wednesday Sep 30
8:30 – 8:45 am, Rm 255C

Michelle Hoang (T35, Mentor: Susana Chung)
Altered retinal vasculature in myopic eyes.
Thursday Oct 1
1:30 – 1:45 pm, Rm 255C

Jazmine Solorzano (T35, Mentor: Elise Harb)
Ultraviolet intensity outperforms illuminance for indoor vs outdoor classification on the VEET spectacle-mounted wearable device.
Thursday Oct 1
4:30 – 6:30 pm, Exhibit Hall

Michelle Pham (T35, Mentor: Jorge Otero-Millan)
Role of proximal cues in driving convergence using virtual reality.
Thursday Oct 1
4:30 – 6:30 pm, Exhibit Hall

Ana Sanchez Gutierrez (T35, Mentor: Debora Lee Chen)
Fusional Vergence Amplitude Dynamics with an Eye Tracker Comparison to Clinical Measurements.
Friday Oct 2
9:00 – 9:15 am, Rm 255C

Vera Shan (T35, Mentor: Maria Liu)
Assessing the reproducibility and reliability of a software-based virtual reality system for self-monitoring visual changes.
Friday Oct 2
1:00 – 3:00 pm, Exhibit Hall

Current VS students:

Dorothy Ma, OD (VS, Mentor: Meng Lin)
Ocular surface comorbidities downregulate tear aqueous production rate.
Thursday Oct 1
4:30 – 6:30 pm, Exhibit Hall

Andrea FaizoLiu, OD (VS, Mentor: Meng Lin)
AI-driven meibomian gland morphological characteristics in young children and adolescents.
Wednesday Sep 30
3:00 – 3:15 pm, Rm 260C

09/19/2026

This year’s Bay Area Vision Science Research Day (BAVRD) featured six invited speakers; ten lightning talks from postdocs and grad students; and 30 posters! Special shout out to Dr. Meng Lin for heroically stepping in at the last minute to deliver the keynote address when the invited speaker fell ill!

What distinguishes BAVRD from other conferences is that it is primarily organized and run by our graduate students, with support from ASAO’s Alex Marquez . This year’s organizers include Jocelyn Tao, Clara Friedman, Dre FazioLiu, Zoey Shen, and Yuanlong Zhao. Thanks too to VS Chair Susana Chung and ASAO’s Alex Marquez for your support!

09/17/2026

Experiment's paused - time to focus our gaze on our friend Oski. We're celebrating Oski's birthday by supporting vision science research 👁🔬.

Support us here at: https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/120099/donate?des=778589&dept=120528"

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Berkeley, CA
94720

Website

http://optometry.berkeley.edu/

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